Resurrection
by Gen Jem
Summary: The Akatsuki has used the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection jutsu to bring back their dead members. Sakura and Naruto end up being captured. Will they get the Kyuubi? Will one member want to get Sakura? M for future violence.. and smut..
1. Breifing

**A/N: Well, this is my first try at this so please be nice. **

**Actually.. just be truthful. If it sucks, let me know.. I'm a big girl. I can handle it.**

**Anywho, I guess I have to let you all know that I do not own Naruto. Big surprise there.**

**Ok, on with the story...**

* * *

The world was a beautiful place. The sun shone down on team 7 as they walked together towards the training grounds and Sakura had never been happier.

Sasuke-kun was by her side, Naruto was finally maturing into a quiet, well-mannered young man and Kakashi-sensei had put away his perverted books for good.

Even Tonton had a smile on her little pig-face as she spread her wings and flew lazy circles in the sky.

'Wait…' Sakura thought.

_**#beep beep beep beep beep#**_

"DAMNIT!"

Sakura's hand flew out from under the covers and smashed the offensive alarm clock. That was the third one that had experienced her wrath that week.

Sakura groaned as she shuffled out of bed, rubbing her head and glaring at the sunlight, which had dared to enter her windows. Needless to say, she was not a morning person.

* * *

After a lot of grumbling and cursing about the fact that she didn't have anything to wear, (even though she had a full wardrobe) she settled on a simple red shirt with her clans symbol on the back and a pair of black shorts with her black sandals. She placed her hair in a messy bun with two senbon as decoration and headed downstairs to get something to eat.

After her parents had died, Sakura's pantry contained very little in the way of real food. She had lots of ingredients, but nothing that was ready to eat, except for instant ramen.

"Great." Sakura sighed, reaching for the beef flavored noodles. "I'm beginning to eat like Naruto."

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the front door followed by and even louder "SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAN!"

"Speak of the devil." She said, making her way to the door.

"Hello Naru--"

GLOMP

"Naruto… Air." Sakura gasped pointing at her lungs while the overly hyperactive blonde ninja squeezed the precious oxygen out of her lungs with a forceful hug.

"Oh, sorry Sakura." He said, jumping away, scratching the back of his head. "It's just, well, I've missed you, you know?"

It had been a while since she had seen him, considering that they were both ANBU captains now and their free time was becoming increasingly limited.

"It's ok Naruto. Would you like to come in? I'm making ramen." Sakura offered.

Quicker than a flash Naruto was inside the kitchen boiling the water.

Sakura shook her head at the young man intently watching the jug.

"Naruto, you know they say a watched pot never boils." She warned as she shut the door and headed over.

Naruto gave her a fox-like grin as he pushed his blond hair out of his eyes. "Not true." He declared. "I've tested that idea and believe me, the water always boils."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing another cup of instant ramen. She had to admit that she actually enjoyed his company now. Sure, he was still loud and annoying but he had actually begun to think a bit more. Sakura was convinced it had to have been Hinata's influence over the young man. The two had been dating for 3 years now and Naruto was definitely considering marrying the shy heiress… as soon as her father stopped threatening to turn him into garden mulch.

Sakura was happy for the two lovebirds but couldn't ignore the slight pain she felt when she thought of them together, holding hands, kissing, whispering. Small things that she had always wanted her herself and a certain dark haired boy. Nevertheless, that was in the past. Sasuke was never coming back and Sakura just needed to move on. A 20-year-old ANBU captain had more important things to do than mope over some stupid childhood crush with chicken-butt hair.

Naruto glanced up and saw Sakura deep in thought, a strange look on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing." Sakura said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Has the water boiled yet?"

"Not yet. It sure is taking a long time."

Sakura glanced at the jug. "Maybe it would help if it was turned on?"

Naruto stared at the jug and started rubbing the back of his head again. "I knew that! Believe it!"

Sakura's sweat dropped.

* * *

After a quick breakfast, the pair sat outside on the front deck talking about the upcoming festival. Last week the Hokage had declared that despite the recent Akatsuki activity, the festival would go on as planned, much to the delight of the civilians. Sakura was just glad that she would be able to get a night of normalcy into her hectic schedule. Naruto was clearly going to take Hinata and Lee was going to go with Tenten. Shikamaru was hoping that Temari would be able to come (preferably without her brothers as they were too 'troublesome') and Ino would be with Chouji.

'Now there was a surprise relationship.' She mused as Naruto yapped on about how great Hinata was going to look in her festival kimono.

Sakura wondered if she should even bother with a date with time. Last time she went with Kiba and she quickly realized why he didn't have a girlfriend. The guy had more testosterone than he knew what to do with. He kept looking at her as if he wanted to hump her leg or something. Definitely not a turn on.

As they sat enjoying the morning air, a figure in a cat mask jumped in front of them, handed them a scroll and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

"What is it? Another mission?" Naruto asked.

Sakura opened the scroll and nodded her head. "We need to be at the Hogake's office in half an hour. Go track down your team and I'll meet you there."

Naruto nodded and vanished in a heartbeat. Sakura sighed at went inside to get changed into her ANBU gear.

'So much for a quiet day.'

* * *

The Hokage's office seemed a little full with two full ANBU teams standing inside and the grim face of a completely sober Tsunade was not helping.

"Tsunade-baachan, what's going on?" asked an ANBU captain from behind a fox mask.

"As you have heard, the Akatsuki have become more active and we have received some disturbing information. It seems that some of the members previously thought dead have reappeared."

"What do you mean 'reappeared'?" Inquired the other captain who was hidden under a simple white mask with pink markings.

"As you know, after Orochimaru was killed we all assumed that the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection jutsu was lost with him but it appears that the Akatsuki have rediscovered it and are using it to rebuild their ranks. As far as we can tell, they have successfully revived Deidara, Sasori and Kakuzu and they might be bringing Orochimaru back."

The air in the room became heavy.

"We believe that Kakuzu is currently hunting down his partner Hidan." Tsunade continued. "It's your job to capture him for questioning and ensure that he does not recover Hidans remains. I'm sending two squads because up until now we have underestimated the Akatsuki. I will not allow that to happen again. Therefore, Team Tatsu and Team Tora will work together in this. You are to leave immediately and head for Kakuzu's last known whereabouts. We are not sure if he will be alone so be careful. Remember, he is only to be captured but do it by any means possible if you have to. "

"Hai" came the joint reply of the captains as the Hokage waved them out of the office. The ANBU squads disappeared and Tsunade reached under her desk to produce a bottle of sake.

"Good luck" she mumbled before downing what would be the first of many cups.

* * *

**Well, how was that? I kinda missed the dead guys, so I decided to bring them back to life :)**

**Cos they're awsome...**

**and we all know it..**

**Speaking of awsome.. how much did the first chapter suck? Please review and let me know.**


	2. Mission

**A/N: Well, here we go again. ****I'm**** sorry about the shortness of my chapters but I'm ****kinda**** swamped with assignments.**

**This was one tough chapter****I'm**** not use to writing fight scenes at all. I hope it ****doesn't**** jump around too much.**

**I ****don't**** own Naruto. **_Hangs head in shame_** But I do have a leaf village headband...T****hat**** makes me a ninja, right? ****RIGHT?**

**No..**** I guess not. ****sigh**

**On with the show...**

* * *

The wind flew past the running ninja as they moved gracefully from tree to tree at an incredible speed.

Sakura couldn't stop thinking about what Tsunade had said back in her office.

Sasori was alive.

She had barely survived their last fight and that was only because Chiyo had been there. There was no way she was willing to go up against him again, especially if he had more of his human puppets with him. The freak had wanted to turn her into a human puppet too. The idea of what that would entail made her blood run cold. He was a monster and she desperately hoped that he didn't remember her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Naruto calling out for the teams to speed up and look for shelter. The sky overhead had become dark and heavy with clouds. She could smell the moisture in the air and was sure that they were heading straight into the middle a great storm front.

'_Perfect_' she thought to herself as a single raindrop landed on her nose. '_Just what we need to make this mission more enjoyable_.'

* * *

The rain fell down around three shadowed figures in dark coats with straw hats.

"How much further is it Kakuzu? This rain is really pissing me off, yeah." asked one.

"It's not far Deidara, so stop your bitching." replied Kakuzu.

"Why are we even bothering with this stupid mission, yeah? I thought you didn't like your partner." groaned Deidara.

"I don't. But leader says we need him to help seal the kyuubi." Kakuzu explained.

"And it's not like we have anything better to do." pointed out the third figure.

"You might not have better things to do, Sasori-danna, but I sure have." Deidara stated.

"Those important things wouldn't have anything to do with getting laid, would they?" Sasori noted.

"Hey, I'm a young guy. I just want to make sure when I came back, I came back whole, yeah. You never know if something went wrong." Deidara remarked.

"Good point. I think a vast portion of your brain didn't quite make the transition." smirked Sasori.

"Oh go and play with your dolls." glared Deidara.

"Puppets." corrected Sasori. "I don't call your clay play-doh, do I?"

"Fuck off." Deidara snapped.

Kakuzu snorted at the behavior of his companions and kept moving the location pointed out to him by Leader.

* * *

Naruto called everyone to a stop by the mouth of a small cave.

"I think it's best if we wait out the worst of this storm in here and regain our strength." He declared. Everyone knew that he wasn't tired in the slightest and could keep going at it for another few days. Something else must be up.

Sakura entered the cave, relieved to get out of the rain. She was soaked to the bone and getting in a very bad mood. It was clear that both their teams were feeling a bit tired and would be in no state to fight unless the rested. She shook her head and made a mental note to put them through some rigorous stamina training when they got back home.

Naruto stood by the mouth of the cave and motioned Sakura to come over.

"They're close." He murmured staring out into the rain.

"They?" Sakura asked, staring at Naruto.

"There's more than one of them. I can smell them."

"Do you know how many?"

"Not yet. The rain is dampening the scent. This is going to be harder than we thought. We're going to need a plan."

Sakura nodded as she sat on the ground and closed her eyes. Her hands unconsciously went into the same position Shikamaru's did when he was thinking.

Naruto watched her sit perfectly still while she analyzed their situation.

_Eight ANBU._

_Heavy rain._

_Element of surprise._

_So far, things are looking good. _

_Now to figure out who will be __there._

_It's__ well known that Akatsuki travel in pairs, so chances are there will only be two of them and Kakuzu will definitely be one of those two because he's the only one that can stitch Hidan up properly. It __can also be assumed__ that he has already found himself four extra hearts so he is probably at full strength too. __Not a good thing._

_But__ who would they send with him? It would have to be someone with good chakra control in order to find all of Hidan's body parts under all that rock. _

_There is only one member I can think of who has that kind of control._

_Sasori._

_If he with them, __we're were__ in some serious trouble._

_Things __aren't__ looking too good anymore._

_We have to set a trap for them somewhere around where Shikamaru said Hidan's body would be. We __have got__ to attack them before Hidan is restored. We should be able to handle two members, but once it becomes three, __we're__ screwed. Hell, __I'm__ probably already pushing it thinking that we can beat two. _

She uncurled her legs and stood up next to Naruto, who smiled at her to ease the tension.

She was glad he was with her. It made her feel better. Like they had a chance to make it out of this alive.

"I think I have a few ideas." She announced.

* * *

"He should about around here. " Kakuzu said

"How can you tell, yeah? I can't hear any swearing." Deidara smirked.

"Shut up and send some of your clay bugs underground." Kakuzu ordered.

Deidara's smirk grew wider.

"Don't even think of blowing him up either. He's in enough pieces as it is." Kakuzu warned.

"Ruining my fun, yeah." Deidara complained, shoving his hand into his clay pouches.

"Can't you do anything without complaining?" Sasori sighed.

Deidara ignored him as he threw two handfuls of clay ants onto the ground and watched as the scattered across the clearing and burrowed into the ground below.

Suddenly Sasori breathed in sharply and slowly began to pull some poisoned needles out of his cloak.

"We're not alone."

* * *

_"Shit!"_ Sakura thought _"There's three of them. This __isn't__ going to work. But we have no choice."_

She watched Sasori reach into his cloak.

"_Fuck_." Sakura growled. "_He knows we're here."_

She turned her head to signal to her team to begin the attack.

* * *

Wires and chakra strings pulled out of the ground and wrapped around the legs of Deidara as Sasori and Kakuzu jumped out of the way, ignoring the fact that Deidara was being pulled into the ground.

".. THE FUCK?!" he shouted.

Sasori traced the wires back to their source and threw his own chakra strings into the trees as Deidara pulled himself out of the ground and used his scope to find who else might be out there. Kakuzu sent his own black threads into another tree to force out the hiding ninja.

Sakura jumped out the tree, dodging the strings. She landed gracefully in front of Sasori and punched the ground with a chakra-laden fist. The ground crumbled beneath the force of the hit and split a huge rift across the clearing.

Sasori jumped aside smiling. He knew only one person who could harness such a force and he desperately wanted to see her again.

"Sakura-san, good to see you again. You're looking lovely, all grown up. ANBU captain too I hear. That's nice. How is my dear grandmother?"

"Dead." Sakura growled.

"That's a shame." came the reply. "She would have made a great puppet but I guess I still have you. You've clearly grown stronger since we last met. You'll make a fine addition to my new collection."

"Never." She spat as she ran towards him.

"We'll see." He smiled.

* * *

Naruto watched as Sakura charged for the pale red head. He hoped she could handle the puppet master by herself until he could join her.

A large rush of wind brushed his face as he turned to Deidara smirking at them from the back of a giant clay bird that was slowly rising into the sky.

"SHIT! Take him down!" He barked at his team.

"What about me?" came a voice from behind. "Doesn't anyone want to play with me?"

Naruto turned to face Kakuzu whose thread were flailing around him wildly.

"If you insist." He growled, preparing his rasengan.

* * *

Deidara dodged the flying kunai and shuriken aimed for him with ease as he dropped a few smaller birds at the ANBU below him.

"KATSU!" He said, grinning while he watched his opponent's frantically jump out of the way of the blasts. He laughed as he saw one of them was a little too slow and was hit with the force of the explosion, rendering him unconscious.

"One down, seven to go, yeah." He laughed, throwing more of his art towards them.

"Make that six."

* * *

Naruto glared at the missing Nin in front of him. His rasengan hadn't been fast enough to hit him and the two fought against each other ineffectively as his team mates dropped like flies around him.

Naruto felt his teeth sharpen and his fingers form into small claws. His eyes went from a bright blue to a blazing red and his pupils turned into black slits. A cushion of bubbly red chakra surrounded him and a guttural growl escaped from his throat.

"Ah, so it is you, kyuubi." noted Kakuzu. "I wasn't sure at first. I thought you were better than this."

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, creating five shadow clones. "You're going to stay dead this time! BELIEVE IT!" he yelled, running straight at him again with another rasengan.

Kakuzu dodged again and threw his threads at the shadow clones, making them disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Is that all you can do kyuubi?" Kakuzu sneered.

A hand reached out of the ground and grabbed onto his ankle.

"What the..."

"Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!"

Kakuzu was pulled into the earth with only his head sticking out. Naruto laughed as he prepared his final rasengan.

Kakuzu smiled under his mask as he watched a few small clay ants climb onto Naruto's legs. He had forgotten about the little bugs Deidara had sent underground to look for his partner.

"What do you know, Deidara's good for something," He laughed.

"What!?" Naruto screamed, staring down at the bugs on his body.

"KATSU!"

* * *

Sakura was running out of chakra fast. Two of Sasori's puppets lay smashed upon the ground and two more were heading straight for her. She barely dodged one of the puppets attacks and slammed her foot into the ground, creating another massive crack in the ground. As the ground split apart she heard a loud bang followed by a sickly groan coming from the other end of the clearing.

"NARUTO!" she screamed, seeing her best friend hit the ground with a large thud.

She turned and ran as fast as she could to Naruto's prone form, another needle went flying by her unprotected face. Her mask had fallen off a while ago as one of the puppets had narrowly missed her head, severing the mask strings instead. It had been a little too close for comfort.

"Isn't leaf ANBU supposed to be the best?" Sasori shouted to her running form "Or are you too weak a kunoichi that you can't even protect your friends?"

"I am not weak!" Sakura cried back.

"I beg to differ. You are stronger than before, I'll admit, but you're nowhere near my level." He said quietly, sending his chakra strings straight for her legs.

Sakura landed face first into the muddy ground a only few feet away from her destination.

"Never turn your back on an enemy." Sasori chided.

Sakura stretched her arm out to her fallen teammate. "NARUTO! HOLD ON!"

He didn't move when she shouted out to him and the kyuubi's aura had faded.

Something sharp bit into in her right shoulder. She ignored it and continued to reach for Naruto. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at his broken body. He was losing blood fast. She was a medic. She had to heal him.

The pain in her shoulder was rapidly becoming worse and her vision was becoming blurry. She pulled her arm to her shoulder and yanked out a small senbon. She screamed as the pain in her shoulder increased and her body became wracked with coughs. A small amount of blood fell from her lips as her eyes began to grow heavy.

"Poi..son.." she coughed, trying to turn around to face Sasori who stood over her smiling as he watched her body shake with the violence of the coughing. "Ass…hole.."

Her body fell limp and her face dropped into the mud, her arm still reaching out to her friend.

"Pathetic." He reflected, leaving Deidara and Kakuzu to finish off the remaining leaf ninja while he looked for Hidan.

* * *

Was that fun? I'm enjoying giving this writing stuff a go. This is far more interesting than essays.

**I hope ****it's**** better to read than an essay. **

**Could it even be AWESOME? - **_cheers__ for the review black55widow by the way..._ ; P

**I hope I can get to write more of this soon, but for now, I have a report to write. **

_shakes__ fist_** DAMN YOU RESEARCH!!**

**luff****luff**** and ****knuffles**** to you all.**

* * *


	3. After the Fight

**AN: Welcome back my freaky darlings. **

**Now, before anyone gets upset with my incredibly late update I have a great excuse… **

**The manga became too damn interesting, school became too damn uninteresting and everything in my world fell apart. **

**But… with some duct tape and a little bit of superglue, I'm piecing things back together and feel like I can carry on and do a chapter.**

**Oh, and I don't own these guys. Except on dvd…  
**

* * *

_Sakura landed face first into the muddy ground a only few feet away from her destination._

"_Never turn your back on an enemy." Sasori chided._

_Sakura stretched her arm out to her fallen teammate. "NARUTO! HOLD ON!"_

_He didn't move when she shouted out to him and the kyuubi's aura had faded._

_Something sharp bit into in her right shoulder. She ignored it and continued to reach for Naruto. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at his broken body. He was losing blood fast. She was a medic. She had to heal him._

_The pain in her shoulder was rapidly becoming worse and her vision was becoming blurry. She pulled her arm to her shoulder and yanked out a small senbon. She screamed as the pain in her shoulder increased and her body became wracked with coughs. A small amount of blood fell from her lips as her eyes began to grow heavy._

"_Poi..son.." she coughed, trying to turn around to face Sasori who stood over her smiling as he watched her body shake with the violence of the coughing. "Ass…hole.."_

_Her body fell limp and her face dropped into the mud, her arm still reaching out to her friend._

"_Pathetic." He reflected, leaving Deidara and Kakuzu to finish off the remaining leaf ninja while he looked for Hidan.  
_

* * *

"Took you fucking long enough, seriously. "

"Shut up Hidan." Kakuzu said testily.

"Fuck no! Do you have any idea how boring it is being trapped underground with no one to talk to? It sucks. It sucks fucking huge."

"Stop moving."

"Jashin is going to be so pissed at me. Seriously. I haven't done a proper ritual in years."

"I said stop moving."

"Shut up you fucking heathen. You wouldn't understand how shitty Jashin can get."

Across the clearing, Sasori did his best to ignore Hidan's constant chatter as he sat and considered the knocked out kunoichi.

Her pink hair was caked with mud and her pale skin was turning various shades of bruises. Still, he could not deny how beautiful she looked.

"All that power in such a delicate flower." He mused.

His fingers itched to brush her hair out of her face, clean her up and dress her in an outfit more befitting her femininity.

"Pretty, yeah." Deidara remarked as he sat down opposite Sasori. "Is that why you haven't killed her yet?"

Sasori didn't even look up at the smirking blonde

"Not quite." He murmured.

"Well, I sure as hell wouldn't mind keeping her around for a while. She's a lot easier on the eyes then the kyuubi brat, yeah."

Sasori wasn't really paying attention. He was focusing on the slight movement in his captives fingertips.

"It would be nice to have her warming my bed at night, yeah. Once she is all showered up and has her chakra inhibited, of course. Otherwise she'd be a little too much to handle, yeah."

"Hn."

"Not that I don't mind a little fight, yeah. It just gets a little distracting when it ends up as a full on sparring match instead of some full on fu.."

"Shut up." Sasori interrupted. "She's waking up." _And much sooner than I had anticipated. She must have become quite the accomplished medic._ He thought. _"This should be amusing."_

* * *

Sakura eyes fluttered open. Her body felt like it had been hit by a truck.

"Awake, I see." Sasori said as he stared into her eyes. "Pupils still dilated though."

"W-where's Naruto"

Damn it hurt to talk.

"The kyuubi is none of your concern."

"Li-like hell he's not." She grunted trying to sit up.

"Lie down."

"Fuck you."

"Lie down."

Every muscle ached and her head pounded as she tried moving to her knees. She had to save Naruto. She had to save her team. She had to save his team. She didn't care too much about saving herself.

Little lights started dancing in front of her eyes and she was beginning to feel light headed.

"Lie back down before you hurt yourself"

"Or before we hurt you, yeah" Deidara added.

Sakura looked at the feral grin on Deidara's face. His palm mouths grinned at her too, making her stomach churn and her head spin.

She unceremoniously fell back to the ground with an _Ooof_.

Sakura knew that she was far too weak to fight them right now and as much as it irritated her, she would just have to bide her time until help arrived or until she could heal herself enough to put up a decent fight. She prepared to mould her chakra to do a quick health check when she realized that something was terribly wrong.

Sasori sat emotionlessly, watching the shock register on her face.

"It's a side effect of the poison. You still have your chakra but you are no longer able to access it. I made it especially for you."

Sakura tried to mould her chakra again. Again, nothing happened.

"No need to worry too much. Sadly, it is not permanent but it's enough to keep you under control."

Sasori pulled another needle out of his coat and jabbed it into her neck.

"Time to go back to sleep, little blossom, yeah."

Sakura glared at Sasori as everything around her began to fade into darkness and Sasori impassively returned her gaze.

"I'll k-kill you."

The darkness surrounded her.

"You already have."

* * *

The flight home was a strange one. Zetsu had already taken the jinchuriki back to the base, Kakuzu was threatening to take a very zombiefied looking Hidan apart again and Deidara was controlling the airborne monstrosity he called "art" while more or less leering at the unconscious rosette ninja who was lying almost protectively in the arms of Sasori.

Sasori couldn't help but feel protective of his catch. She was his. She owed him. She belonged to him.

"Almost there, yeah." Deidara said to no one in particular.

Sasori looked up from his prize to observe the landscape around them. It all seemed so bland and uninteresting. Normally he would have been content to watch the clouds pass by and the rivers below snake around into interesting patterns but for some reason, nothing seemed as lovely as the girl that lay arms.

He looked closely at her. Her body had definitely developed in all the right places and she had gotten taller since the last time he had seen her, but not by much.

"Perfect." He murmured.

He watched the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed deeply in her medicated sleep and couldn't help but feel a stirring inside his body. He was not an entirely uncomfortable thing with it but it was different from the usual possessive feelings he had with his other toys. This toy was still alive. Still breathing. She would continue to grow and change and would not last forever. But she was still beautiful.

Is this what Deidara meant when he talked about art being fleeting?

"What the fuck is that?" Hidan said, interrupting Sasori's meditation.

"My next project."

"What project? Getting yourself laid? It's about fucking time you virgin."

Sasori chose to pay no attention to Hidan's comments. It was none of his business what he chose to do with the girl.

"What now you're fucking ignoring me? Fuck you, virgin puppet."

"Let it go Hidan." Kakuzu sighed.

"Fuck you."

"Can you guys stop fighting, yeah? We're almost there."

"Don't get me started on you, girly-man!"

Deidara's face went red, his eyes went blank and his leg shot out towards Hidan's face. It was almost too quick to see the actual hit but the sound of Hidan's swearing fading as his body raced towards the ground below was enough to know that the kick had been effective.

"I'm not a fucking girl." Deidara said darkly as he maneuvered the giant bird towards the ground to land.

* * *

**AN: Well there we are. It's a start… again… and short... again..**

**I finally decided on a pairing.. for now.. but that doesn't mean that the others aren't gonna give it a try ;)**

**How was it? Let me know.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till then.**


	4. Back at Base

**

* * *

**

A/N: sigh

**Ever feel like life isn't just handing you lemons? **

**It's throwing them at your head and laughing when the juice gets in your eye?**

**It's at times like that you need to take life with more than a few grains of salt…**

**And then a few shots of tequila…**

**Then get those lemons, chuck them back at life full force and scream "I DON'T WANT YOUR FUCKING LEMONS!!"**

**Then you have more tequila…**

**BTW, I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be getting lemon juice in my eye.**

* * *

_"What the fuck is that?" Hidan said, interrupting Sasori's meditation."_

_"My next project."_

_"What project? Getting yourself laid? It's about fucking time you virgin."_

_Sasori chose to pay no attention to Hidan's comments. It was none of his business what he chose to do with the girl._

_"What now you're fucking ignoring me? Fuck you, virgin puppet."_

_"Let it go Hidan." Kakuzu sighed._

_"Fuck you."_

_"Can you guys stop fighting, yeah? We're almost there."_

_"Don't get me started on you, girly-man!"_

_Deidara's face went red, his eyes went blank and his leg shot out towards Hidan's face. It was almost too quick to see the actual hit but the sound of Hidan's swearing fading as his body raced towards the ground below was enough to know that the kick had been effective._

_"I'm not a fucking girl." Deidara said darkly as he maneuvered the giant bird towards the ground to land._

* * *

Kisame stood at the entrance of Akatsuki headquarters watching the rapid decent of what appeared to be a man followed shortly by a giant clay bird.

"Finally." he grumbled, Hitching up his sword and walking out to meet the arrivals.

* * *

Kakuzu glared at Deidara.

"You had better help me pick him up again."

"Not a chance, yeah."

"You were the one that kicked him off. You have to clean him up."

"No." Deidara said stamping his foot

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"Just do it." Sasori sighed, hoisting the unconscious kunoichi onto his shoulder.

"Why don't you do it, yeah?"

"I'm busy." He murmured, walking off towards the entrance, nodding at Kisame in greeting as they passed.

Kisame nodded back but didn't take his eyes off of the girl slung over Sasori's shoulder.

Sasori ignored the stare as he headed inside leaving the arguing duo to Kisame.

* * *

Kisame stood and watched Sasori walk inside with the pink haired girl bobbing away on his shoulder untill he couldn't see them any more, then he turned to face what was turning out to be a very lame fight.

"Hey Deidara, what's Sasori doing with a girl?" Kisame asked.

Deidara shrugged "Not sure, yeah. Maybe he's going to get laid or something." He promptly turned back to Kakuzu and started yelling again.

Kisame looked around "Where's Hidan? You guys did get him, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Kakuzu shouted, "but then Blondie here kicked him off mid-air and now won't help pick him back up!"

"He called me Girly-man, yeah!"

"So what? You are a girly man!"

"ARRRRRGGGGHHH!!"

Kisame loved a good fight but this was ridiculous. He walked off to locate Hidan or at least the bits of him he could find.

* * *

Sasori sat at the end of his room, blending in with the darkness, watching her sleep. He envied her calm face. It had been so long since he had slept.

'So peaceful.' he thought. 'If it wasn't for the rise and fall of her chest, one could almost think she was a doll. If only everything in life was this peaceful.'

He rested his head against the wall and let the events what happened when they returned run through his mind.

The group meeting with had Leader had been anything but peaceful. Hidan had yelled at everyone for not getting him sooner, Deidara was still fuming over being called girly-man, Kakuzu complained he wasn't getting paid enough to put up with this and everyone else yapped on about the girl he had brought back.

The others thought he was an idiot to keep her alive and even more of an idiot to place her in his own room. Hidan had in fact had called him a dickless pile of maggot infested dog shit with no brains who was doomed to hell. Sasori didn't find it hard to ignore him. Truthfully, it was hard for anyone to take Hidan seriously when Kakuzu was sewing his nose back on.

Leader had said nothing. He only raised his eyebrows but left Sasori to his own devices. He knew that the puppet master wasn't stupid enough to let the girl loose on his village.

Naturally the others complained until the meeting ended, at which time, Sasori disappeared into his room to tend to his new toy and calm himself back down.

Sasori locked his door and moved to his work bench where Sakura lay and wiped her down with a damp cloth, using the time alone to get a closer look at the kunoichi.

Her lips were full and red, her skin was like porcelain and her hair was radiant, albeit still a little muddy. Her body was toned to perfection from years of ninja training yet it still held a womanly charm he had never comprehended before. He considered changing her clothes but decided against it. He was already feeling more than a little strange around her and didn't fancy the idea of feeling even stranger, well, not until he had figured out what was going on.

He gently picked her up and moved her across the room to his bed. Softly laying her head on his unused pillow he turned and walked back to his bench and waited for her to wake up. He wasn't looking forward to the yelling he knew she was going to do, but he was looking forward to seeing her eyes full of that fire he had seen during their battle.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Maybe a little chaos wouldn't be too bad.

* * *

Kisame lay across the couch picking at his teeth while Hidan sat on the floor stretching out the kinks in his stitched up body. Deidara sat at the table across from Kakuzu who was no doubt grinning under his mask at the amount of money he had won off the gullible blonde.

"So, what do you think he's going to do with her?" Kisame said to Hidan, flicking something green across the room.

"Fuck her. What else?"

"Turn her into a puppet maybe." Kisame said grinning.

"Nah, she's too good looking for that. He'll root her for sure."

"Think he'll let me get some?" Kisame's sharp teeth made his grin even more appalling.

"Maybe after me, yeah." Deidara piped in.

"Why would you get to go first?" Kakuzu asked

"Yeah, why you?" Kisame added.

"Cos I'm the sexiest one out of us, yeah. You guys would scare her off."

"Fuck that. I'm better looking."

"Hidan, you look worse than all of us right now. You couldn't pay that girl enough to even look at you without being sick."

Kisame and Deidara laughed as Hidan gave Kakuzu the finger, only to have it promptly fall right off.

"Fuckers." He growled, grabbing the fallen digit and heading off to his room.

Kakuzu smiled and lay down his cards in front of Deidara who promptly stopped laughing and banged his head against the table, making Kisame laugh even harder.

* * *

Sakura looked around. It was bright outside. The sun was gentle and held none of its harshness. The trees felt soft and fluffy. The grass was warm, green and luscious. But she was alone. It was strange.

No birds flew in the sky. No deer grazed on the grass. Not even a single bug floated in the air.

It was eerily serene. It didn't feel right but she couldn't figure out why. She felt like her head was packed with wool. She walked through this warm and gentle landscape searching for something, but she didn't know what it was, nor did she really care. Her hands looked soft and fluid. She moved them in time with her legs in a strange dance that seemed familiar but she couldn't remember where from. She spun around; her leg raised high and followed through with her arm out and her hand in a closed position.

'So familiar…' She mused.

She carried on this strange dance and reached into her pocket only to find it empty.

'Peculiar… there should be something in there.' She reflected, only she couldn't remember what.

She moved to a tree and tried to dance up it, only she couldn't seem to stick to the trunk.

Something definitely wasn't right here. She stopped moving and closed her eyes. Why did things feel so familiar and yet so different? It was almost like something was missing. A part of her was missing. It reminded her of the time Sasuke had left her on the bench after he…

Sakura's eyes flew open. That's why it all felt so strange. She had been drugged into an unconscious state. How long had she been out? Where was she? More importantly, where was Naruto!

The soft fuzzy land around her began to fade into the dim colour of her eyelids. Her training was kicking in and she had to pretend to remain asleep while she subtly felt out the area with her chakra.

Only, there was no chakra. Sasori had blocked it off to her.

'Shit.'

* * *

Sasori learn forward. He had heard a slight change in the kunoichi's breath, indicating that she had woken up. He wondered how long he would have to wait before she finally knew she'd have to stop pretending to be asleep.

* * *

Sakura thought through her options, none of which were good.

She couldn't pretend to sleep forever and she couldn't fight Sasori without her chakra. She didn't even know if he was still here, wherever 'here' was.

She knew here was a bed, but which bed and why was she in it?

* * *

Sasori watched her face as she mulled over her options. She was very good at hiding her thoughts, but after spending time with Itachi, no one could hide their thoughts that well.

* * *

Sakura sighed inwardly and opened her eyes. There was no point trying to act serene when she was probably in the middle of the Akatsuki hideout in the room of wanted criminal while her best friend was most likely unconscious in a cell somewhere.

And her day had started off so well.

This was really going to suck.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there everyone.**

**A big shout out to everyone who's reviewed. **

**You guys make writing worth it.**

**And another big hey hey to those that have added this story to their fav's and alerts. Cheers guys.**

**So, what did we think of this one? Long enough? **

**Not bad for a quick job during class. **

**You never know, I might even get started on the next chapter for you guys.**

**I love the Akatsuki. They make me laugh.**

**Quick note, my partner of 4 years broke up with me, hence why I've been a little slack on the writing. Sorry about that… it's all those damn lemons I tell ya!**

**Anywho,**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time**

* * *


	5. Waking Up

**

* * *

**

A/N: Ready for more?

**I guess I was too, cos here we go again.**

**I don't own Naruto. **

**I have Tsunade's luck. **

**If I did own Naruto, the world would come to an end.**

* * *

_Sakura sighed inwardly and opened her eyes. There was no point trying to act serene when she was probably in the middle of the Akatsuki hideout in the room of wanted criminal while her best friend was most likely unconscious in a cell somewhere._

_And her day had started off so well._

_This was really going to suck._

* * *

Sasori stood perfectly still as he watched as Sakura's eyes opened. They didn't flutter open like a girl who had just awoken from the sweetest of dreams; instead they opened slowly to reveal a truly furious death glare aimed at everything they landed on. If looks could kill, he'd be dead within a heartbeat.

It was really quite spectacular to see so much anger in such a simple motion.

* * *

Sakura glared at the dimly lit room. Her eyes, having already adjusted to the light, swept across the room, searching for a certain red-head which she was positive was in there somewhere, waiting for her.

Even if she had no chakra, her other ninja skills were still at full strength and she spotted him peering at her from across the room. He was looking directly at her, a strange look in his eyes.

The look made her flesh crawl.

She got off the bed and moved into a subtle defensive stance but under the calm gaze of the puppet master, nothing was subtle.

Without so much as a shift in position, he swiftly flicked his fingers, using pre-place chakra strings to trip Sakura back onto the bed and bind her there.

"Let me go you bastard." She growled, struggling to get loose.

"That wasn't very polite." Sasori said mildly.

"You heard me, you freak. Let me go!"

"No. I don't think I will Sakura-san."

Sakura felt waves of heat radiate off her body as she realised that she was well and truly stuck on the bed of an insane male.



* * *

Sasori felt the subtle change in temperature and felt a strange heat growing inside his own body. It was making him feel a little uncomfortable watching her writhe around on his sheets. This was just the sort of spirit he admired in the girl but the feeling was getting to be a little too much for him.

* * *

"LET ME GO NOW YOU MANIACAL MARIONETTE!"

"Not until you calm down. I have some very delicate equipment in here and even without your outrageous strength, I'm sure you could create quite the mess. I'm not in the mood to clean up after you."

Sakura's body slowly stopped moving as she let out a frustrated sigh.

"Where am I?"

Sasori shifted off his workbench and walked towards her. He kept his face blank, but his eyes unconsciously still held that eerie look to them.

"You're in my room."

"Where is Naruto? Is he still alive?"

"Pardon?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Where is Naruto?"

"Oh, you mean the kyuubi container."

"He has a name."

Sasori shrugged at her.

"His name is of no consequence. He'll be dead soon."

"Liar." Sakura hissed.

"What reason would I have to lie?"

"Where is he then?"

"He's been placed in a cell that can withstand any form of attack. There is no chance he will escape. He'll stay in there until we extract the demon from him and when that happens, he will die."

"If you even try it, I'll kill you." Sakura declared, shaking her head.

A small smile graced Sasori's pale face.

"You know you don't stand a chance against me. Without your chakra, you're nothing."

Sakura hated it, but he was right. She just need to stay calm and think of a plan. Unfortunately for her, Sasori was feeling unusually talkative at the moment.

"Stop trying to think this out. There's nothing you can do about it. You should stop worrying about him and start worrying about yourself. Don't you want to know why you're here?"

Sakura shook her head. "I already know why I'm here. You want to turn me into one of your disgusting human puppets."

"If I wanted to do that, you'd be dead by now." He said plainly.

"Then, I guess I'm still alive because you want to torture me first as payback for killing you."

Sasori smiled again. It was oddly polite and very unnatural.

It was beginning to freak her out a little.

"Now, now. A puppet? Revenge? It's a shame that you think so low of me."

"Well that is what you're planning, right?"

"I can't deny the thought had crossed my mind. You would make a splendid weapon, and you do deserve to be punished, but now I'm thinking I could use you for something else. I'm not exactly sure just yet what for, but I'm sure it will come to me in time."

"Well, if I were you, I'd stop thinking. You might end up hurting yourself."

"Such childish insults. I thought the apprentice of the Hokage would be a little more mature and a little more helpful."

Sakura snorted.

"I will never help you with anything as long as I have life in me."

"If that's how you feel, maybe I'll just give you to the others? You know, they have already expressed an interest of their own in you."

"I wouldn't help them either."

"Considering what type of interests they have, I'm not sure if you would have a choice. They are stronger than you and being a missing nin can make a man feel very lonesome for female company."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"They all agree that you have turned into quite the attractive little thing."

Sakura felt sick to her stomach. 'Great.' she thought, 'Not only am I a prisoner, but I'm a prisoner of perverts.'

"What's wrong Sakura-san? Doesn't the idea thrill you? So many men all wanting you?"

"Truthfully, it makes me sick."

Sasori nodded softly and walked closer to her.

"They are unworthy, I suppose."

Sasori looked at her eyes as he calmly asked his next question.

"What of the thought of me wanting you?"

Sakura's eyes filled with sudden fire.

"How would that make you feel?"

"I'd rather die than have a demented creature like you touch me." She spat.

Sasori walked even closer, his eyes never breaking contact with hers.

"You're an unfeeling monster. I pity your family. I feel sickened just sharing the same air as you. You disgust me." Sakura's voice was filled with venom.

"Be careful with your words Sakura-san."

"Fuck you. I would never in a million lifetimes consider touching you."

"I said be careful, I still might choose to kill you and I can guarantee you, it will be very painful."

"Do it then." She said, raising her chin in challenge. "Go on."

"Don't tempt me." He said softly, leaning in towards the defiant female on his bed.

"Come on then, do it!"

"You can't make me angry Sakura-san, so stop trying."

"What's wrong? Afraid that once I'm dead, you'll have nothing left to torture?"

"That's not an issue at all, my dear." Sasori replied as he leaned in closer and closer to his pretty pink captive.

"Remember, death doesn't seem to be as permanent now as it used to be. I'm proof of that."

The room seemed to get darker.

"I could kill you as many times as I liked and never get bored of watching the lights leave your eyes."

The hairs at the back of her neck stood up as he continued to lean in over her.

"I could even torture your loved ones to death right in front of your eyes, again and again and again."

The world seemed to disappear until there was nothing left except for his face and his voice.

"I could make their screams of pain circle in your head for hours, days, even years."

His head was right above hers, his eyes boring into hers, a faint spark of bloodlust flickering in them.

"I could do anything I wanted to you and you would be helpless against me."

His breath felt hot against her skin.

"You would belong only to me."

Sasori's face was only inches above her own.

"I think I might enjoy that."

Sakura let a small whimper loose a second before their faces could touch, breaking the strange spell that had overcome Sasori.

The puppet master stopped and look at the unshed tears in Sakura's eyes.

"As I said, Sakura-san. Don't tempt me."

He leaned back up, his eyes still dark and stood up to turn away.

"There's a bathroom through that door." He said, pointing towards a previously unnoticed exit on the left side of the wall.

"You should clean up and change your clothes. You might be here some time."

Sakura lay still on the bed, unable to move.

"I will return with something for you to eat in an hour. You had best be out and dressed by then."

"A-and if I'm not?" Sakura said quietly, trying to find her voice again as he turned away and headed for a door on the right.

"I wouldn't recommend it." Sasori said calmly, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Sasori had to leave that room. There was something strange about that girl that stirred even stranger feelings inside of him.

When he had told her about the others, he seemed relieved that she was so against it. She was too good for them. She was only good enough for him. But she didn't seem to think so.

He didn't even know why he had asked her about being with him.

The rosette probably hated him the most right now.

What did he care what she thought anyway.

All these stupid feelings were so maddening.

It was a stupid question.

It was a stupid conversation.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

* * *

Deidara pulled his head back from around the corner. He had never seen is danna look so miserable before. He was almost banging his head against the wall in frustration.

Clearly his little kunoichi was getting to him.

He quietly fled back to the common room, where Kakuzu still sat counting his money while Kisame picked at his sharp teeth.

Both quickly turned their heads to look at Deidara with questioning looks in their eyes.

"I think he's in over his head."

* * *

**A/N: Oooooh, anyone else get shivers?**

**Mwah**

**Kisses all round! You know you love me. Come on. Give in.**

**Show me love.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**

* * *


	6. The Feelings After

* * *

**A/N: Ok, now we're getting somewhere.**

**It took me a while to get started again but now I got the creative juices flowing it's tough to stop.**

**I have a can of red bull, a pack of tic tacs and an ipod full of music. **

**Let's rock.**

**Also, I don't own Naruto.**

**You know it, I know it, even the blind deaf mute hiding in my basement knows it… but I'm sure he's not telling anyone.**

* * *

_Deidara pulled his head back from around the corner. He had never seen is danna look so miserable before. He was almost banging his head against the wall in frustration._

_Clearly his little kunoichi was getting to him._

_He quietly fled back to the common room, where Kakuzu still sat counting his money while Kisame picked at his sharp teeth._

_Both quickly turned their heads to look at Deidara with questioning looks in their eyes._

"_I think he's in over his head."_

* * *

Sakura felt numb.

Although the chakra string tying her down disappeared the same time Sasori did, she didn't have the strength to move.

What just happened?

Surely it was all just a ploy to make her feel uncomfortable. If it was, it sure was working.

She felt so dirty and she knew it wasn't from the mud.

Hers eyes turned to the door he had pointed out. A shower would be nice.

Using every ounce of strength she had left, she got up from the bed and moved quickly and silently to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Only then did she allow herself to break down.

Tears fell incessantly down her cheeks as she slid to the floor, sobbing.

The reality of her situation came crashing in all around her.

Everything had gone wrong.

Her team was dead.

Naruto's team was dead.

Naruto was living on borrowed time and she was prisoner to a man who scared her more than anything she had ever imagined.

And what made it worse was, it was all her fault.

She wasn't strong enough to protect them.

She had failed them.

She had failed herself.

She curled up on the bathroom floor, holding her head in her hands, letting the weight of the world crush her.

All she wanted was for her heart to stop beating and fade away into nothing.

* * *

Sasori swore he could hear the girl sobbing in the bathroom.

He knew he was partly responsible for the heart wrenching sound but there was nothing he could do about it.

He had his duty to do and no vice, no matter how attractive, could distract him from it.

He just wished her anguish wouldn't affect him as much as it did.

* * *

Deidara sat on a chair in the common area trying to toss grapes into his mouth.

He wasn't doing too badly, except his hands kept on stealing every third grape or so.

Kisame had his head resting against the arm of the couch while he hummed tunelessly.

Kakuzu was still counting money.

Deidara's head spun around to see Sasori walk into the room with his head slightly bowed.

"Hey, Sasori-danna. What's up, yeah?"

"Nothing." Came the bland reply.

"Sure sure nothing. I know you better than that, yeah."

"Women troubles?" Kisame asked with a wink.

"I said it was nothing."

"Come on, yeah. She's a hell cat for sure but no girl can be that much trouble."

"You would be surprised." Sasori mumbled under his breath.

"So, you screw her yet?"

"Shut up Kisame." Kakuzu grumbled.

"You shut up. I want to know. So, was she any good? Does she moan? I want details."

Sasori shot Kisame a dirty look and walked off into the kitchen.

"Come on Sasori, the public needs to know!" Kisame shouted after him.

"Kisame, could you be any more annoying?" Kakuzu sighed.

"Sure, if you paid me extra."

"Not a chance."

Deidara left his seat and walked into the kitchen to find out what had happened between the two.

* * *

Sasori sat at the kitchen bench staring off into space.

His face looked troubled and his eyes seemed a little more haunted than usual.

Deidara sauntered into the kitchen and sat down next to him.

He looked at Sasori's face, then at the blank wall in front of them then back at Sasori.

"Yoo-hoo, yeah. Anyone home?" he said waving his hand in front of Sasori's blank eyes.

Sasori waved his arm away.

"Earth to Sasori, yeah, come in Sasori."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing really, I just want to make sure you're ok, yeah. You look a little bit paler than usual. Termites?"

Sasori rolled his eyes and started to shift off his seat.

Deidara grabbed his armed and pulled him back down."

"Hey hey. I'm just trying to lighten the mood, yeah. So, come on. What really happened in there?"

"Nothing."

"No point trying to lie to me Sasori-danna, yeah. I know you too well. So come on. Tell me before I beat it out of you."

"You couldn't beat me."

"You know I could, yeah."

"No you couldn't. Your art is inferior."

"Hey! My art is superior to yours in every sense of the word, yeah! Art is a bang! Art is.. Hey.. wait a moment, yeah. I see what you're trying to do. Ha ha. Nice try Sasori-danna but you're not going to distract me that easily."

"Damn." Sasori muttered.

"Tell me what happened, yeah."

"To be completely honest, I'm not sure what happened." Sasori sighed.

"Well, what did you two talk about, yeah?"

"I can't really remember. She yelled at me a bit to start. She wanted to know where the kyuubi was being held."

"You didn't tell her, yeah?"

"Not quite. I just told her that there was no chance he could escape and he was going to die."

"No wonder she yelled at you at then, yeah. Did she ask you why she was here?"

"Not really. She thinks I brought her here to kill her and make her one of my puppets."

"Are you?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

"That might be something you should make a decision on pretty soon, yeah."

"I know, but there's something about her. She makes me feel strange. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe I should just kill her."

Deidara smiled. He was pretty sure knew what his danna was feeling. This was too good.

"You know, maybe you should put your fing..."

"Don't you even think about finishing that sentence." Sasori warned.

"Sorry, yeah. Sick mind you know."

"Believe me. I know."

Sasori got up and walked towards the cupboard.

"What are you doing now, yeah?"

"She needs something to eat."

"I could give her something to…"

"Stop it Deidara."

* * *

Sakura finally pulled herself up from the floor, her tears forming a puddle on the ground.

She wasn't sure how long she had been crying for, but she knew that she had to have a shower and be dressed pretty damn soon or else he might come in and force her to wash in front of him.

She shuddered at the thought of his eyes watching her as she showered.

She quickly undressed and ran into the small shower and turned the hot water on full.

It was hotter than she had expected but the hotter the better.

The heat was making her feel clean.

She scrubbed her body till it was pink and ran her hair under the water until all traces of her earlier fight was gone.

The calm drumming sound of the water on her back soothed her and as she stood there with her eyes closed, she could almost imagine that it was her bathroom back in her village.

'Will I ever see home again?' she wondered as a fresh wave of despair took over her and she once again began to weep.

* * *

**A/N:**** I know, I know. It's short.**

**But seriously, I couldn't wait.**

**When the plot bunnies come-a-scratchin, one must answer.**

**And I still have 1 ½ hours left till class starts. Arrrgggggg.**

**Oh, and once again much luff to my admirers out there. **

**It's all your fault that I have to go to bed at night with carrots next to my pillow incase the bunnies try wake me up at 1 am.**

**Well, that's it from juicy rabbit central for now.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**

* * *


	7. Realization

**

* * *

**

A/N: Ok. Well it's clear to most of you know how slack I am at updating.

**So…. Why bother apologising. You should be used to it by now.**

**Kisses all round mwah **

**You people know I love ya.**

**Once again, I don't own Naruto. Naruto owns me...**

* * *

_She scrubbed her body till it was pink and ran her hair under the water until all traces of her earlier fight was gone._

_The calm drumming sound of the water on her back soothed her and as she stood there with her eyes closed, she could almost imagine that it was her bathroom back in her village._

'_Will I ever see home again?' she wondered as a fresh wave of despair took over her and she once again began to weep._

* * *

Sakura cried in the shower until she felt like there was nothing left in her to cry. She watched as her tears mixed with the water falling from the showerhead and disappeared down the drain and she wished with all her heart that she could follow them.

But she knew it was just wishful thinking. She was stuck here and no amount of tears could change that. Achingly, she climbed out and began to dry herself off with a towel she found sitting on a small wicker stool in the corner.

She stood in front of a small mirror over the sink and looked at her face.

Her eyes were a little puffy and her face had small bruises dotted around but they were barely noticeable anymore. She counted herself lucky that the fight hadn't cause her any serious injuries.

Overall, she could have fared worse.

She looked back to the small stool in the corner and saw a pale white dress lying across it. Clearly, Sasori had placed it there for her to wear it.

Although the dress looked pretty enough, she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Who the hell did he think he was telling her what to wear? There was no way she could bring herself to put on something given to her by that nut job.

She looked at her clothes lying on the floor. There was mud, dirt and blood all over them and they no doubt smelled awful but she wasn't going to put on the white dress no matter how uncomfortable the other option was.

She snatched her own clothes up off the floor and began to wash them in the sink. She scrubbed them with a sweet smelling bar of soap, squeezed them until there was as little moisture as possible in them, and then put them back on.

She squealed as the wet fabric touched her skin and shivered at how clammy it felt. Fortunately, it was a quick drying fabric and would soon return to its normal style.

She pulled her hair back into a basic ponytail and gazed at herself again in the mirror.

She looked a bit stronger now that she had calmed herself and felt a bit stronger too.

Sakura stared at her reflection and took a few deep breaths.

"I am strong. I am smart. I am Sakura Haruno, ANBU captain and kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves. I will not give up and I will not give in. I will rescue Naruto and I will go home."

She felt better by just saying that. Sakura Haruno was going to make it home. She just needed to formulate a plan…

* * *

Sasori walked up to his room carrying a tray of food. He knew he had to come up with a plan.

This girl was a sneaky one and had no doubt already assessed her situation and come up with a plan of her own. He just needed to pre-empt that plan and turn it against her.

Even if he still couldn't figure out what he wanted her for...

* * *

Sakura turned her head to the door as it open. She sat calmly on the bed in her own clothes, the white dress ripped to shreds next to her.

Sasori looked it the remains of the beautiful garment he had given her to put on and inwardly growled. That dress had been one of his favourites.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked in the sweetest tone she could manage.

Sasori looked back at the smiling rosette and mirrored her with a smile of his own.

Two could play at this game.

"Of course not Sakura-san." He replied as he placed the tray on a bench by the bed. "I trust you found the shower to your liking?"

Sakura continued to smile as if she was just discussing the weather.

"Oh yes. It was very nice. I had half expected it to be disgusting and broken like the rest of the belongings in here, but I was pleasantly surprised. But I suppose it's only that way because it's rarely ever been touched."

Sasori mimicked her pleasant tone and nodded agreeably.

"It's true I never really had occasion to use it before, but I still like things around me to be unsoiled and beautiful. Speaking of unsoiled and beautiful, I guess white just isn't you're colour, don't you agree? Your current outfit does seem to suit you better then what I had picked out."

Sakura somewhat stiffened at his last comment. He was smooth.

"Sakura-san, is something wrong?" Sasori said smiling, "You seem to have stopped talking."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I just feel a little cramped in here. It feels more like a toy box than an actual room. Could we go outside for a walk?"

Sasori was beginning to get tired of this game.

"I think it would be best if you stayed here for a while and ate something to help rebuild your strength. You're looking a little pale and weak."

"No thank you. I'm not feeling very hungry at the moment. Maybe you should eat it. You're looking a bit sickly yourself."

"It's nothing to worry yourself over. I can always just use some of my chakra to heal myself if I am getting ill."

Sasori's smile turned into a light smirk as he watched her eyes darken.

"Call me ignorant, Sasori-san, but last time I checked, you couldn't cure insanity with chakra."

Sasori's smirk faded. "Sakura, I'm starting to get bored with this."

"Bored with what?"

"Bored with this silly game you're trying to play."

"What game?"

"Are you always this annoying?"

A look of fake shock covered Sakura's face. "Why, Sasori-san. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sasori leaned close to her, the smirk on his face disappearing.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. First, you rip apart a dress I offered you to wear instead of that filthy gear you are wearing right now, you abuse my hospitality by insulting my surroundings, you refuse to eat the food I brought for you and you insult me. I find that all rather rude."

"Why should I care what you think?"

"Because I can choose to kill you anytime I like. Or have you forgotten that already?" He grabbed the bowl and shoved it in her face. "Now eat"

Sakura slapped it out of his hands without so much as flinching at the sound it made as it smashed against the ground.

"Not hungry?"

"Not with you so close." She retorted.

"In that case, there will be no food for you today. One day you will learn to accept what is given to you."

"And one day you'll learn how to stop being an asshole then you'll be a real boy."

That was enough.

"One day you're going to learn when to shut up."

Sasori grabbed her arms, pulling her off the bed, and slammed her into the wall. She whimpered as her head hit the wall with a thud. Sasori stared down at her.

He leaned hard against her and stared into her eyes. He could have lost himself in those eyes. They were made of green fire that swirled like a storm. Every emotion she felt lived in those eyes.

Right now, every part of his being was filled with a strange arousal from what he could see in those eyes. Hatred, pain and a delicious glint of fear.

* * *

Sakura's eyes widened with shock as she felt something hard pressing against her thigh.

"What's wrong Sakura? You seem to have gone very quiet all of the sudden." He leaned against her harder. "Have you learned something?"

Sakura turned her head away from his dark eyes.

"Look at me." He growled as he nudged her hard with his groin.

Sakura turned back and looked into his eyes. How could she have not seen it before?

"Tell me what you've learned Sakura."

Sasori was no longer an unfeeling piece of wood.

"Tell me."

His eyes were getting darker.

"I want to hear it."

Sakura felt all the strength she had rebuilt fading all over again. This was too much for her to handle.

Her vision became blurry and darkness covered her.

He was living man!

* * *

Sasori watched her mind unravel everything it just learned and then faint out of distress.

He had finally figured out what he wanted the kunoichi for and what was even better, he was starting to enjoy this human body.

* * *

**A/N: Oooooooohh!**

**Nothing much else to say…**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	8. Hatred

**A/N: I've got a really good reason this time! I swear!**

**I started a new job!**

**I am now the official librarian of the Islamic School of Canberra!**

**How awesome is that?!**

**Yay me**

**Ok, let's get on with it.**

**I don't own Naruto but I just bought another Naruto dvd. **

* * *

_Sasori watched her mind unravel everything it just learned and then faint out of distress._

_He had finally figured out what he wanted the kunoichi for and what was even better, he was starting to enjoy this human body._

* * *

Sakura felt like she was reliving the past.

All she did back then was faint and fall over and now, years later, she was doing the same thing all over again.

She still remembered that day perfectly. All that hard work to learn just one thing.

'We are one.'

Kakashi was wrong. They weren't one. Sasuke abandoned them.

She begged him not to but he left her.

She cried for so long.

Naruto promised to bring him back.

It was a stupid promise. One he could never fulfil.

Naruto was always promising brainless things.

Things like he was going to be Hokage one day.

Things like marrying Hinata.

Like always being there to protect the ones he loved.

They were all stupid promises.

Naruto would never have guessed that he would die alone and in pain and break every single one of those stupid, stupid promises.

Sakura had also sworn to protect the ones she loved but soon she too would end up breaking her promise.

* * *

Sasori wondered how many more times she would pass out today.

This had to be some kind of record.

He laid Sakura back down on the bed and sat patiently for her to wake up again.

He trailed his hand across her face, running his thumb across her lips.

She was so beautiful.

He wondered what she was dreaming. Her eyes scrunched up and a single tear fell down the side of her face.

Mesmerised, he watched it move slowly down and he leant forward to catch it with his tongue.

Who knew sorrow could taste so good?

Sakura whimpered beneath him and let out a heart breaking whisper.

"Naruto."

* * *

Sakura was scared.

She was about to lose Naruto. He was like a brother to her. He was a part of her family and there was nothing she could do to save him.

The Akatsuki was going to take out the nine-tailed fox and kill Naruto in the process.

His body wouldn't be able to heal fast enough to live once they removed the kyuubi.

Gaara had told her what he remembered from his experience with the Akatsuki.

He remembered the agonising pain as they ripped Shukaku out of his body and then nothing.

Gaara had died.

He didn't remember anything until Chiyo brought him back by giving up her life for his.

Wait. That was it!

Maybe she could do the same for Naruto.

'We are one.'

She had failed her team and Naruto's team, but she wouldn't fail him.

He had to return to Hinata. He had to become Hokage. He had to live on.

She wouldn't break her promise.

Her death to guarantee his life.

It seemed like a fair enough trade.

* * *

Deidara hid in the hallway and watched as Sasori licked the pink haired ninja's face.

"Secretive little shit, yeah." He growled.

Sasori wasn't a puppet anymore.

Why didn't he tell him?

Weren't they partners? Weren't they friends?

Of course they argued, but surely they were still close enough to share something as important as Sasori being human again?

This wasn't fair.

It wasn't like he was jealous of the kunoichi or anything. He just thought his partner should value him more than some random female.

He unmasked his chakra and stormed into the room.

"What do you think you're doing Deidara?" Sasori asked calmly without even turning around. "You shouldn't come into my room unless invited."

"When were you going to tell me, yeah? How long were you going to keep this a secret from me?" Deidara yelled.

Sasori saw Sakura's face twitch.

"Calm down. You're going to wake her up."

Deidara's arms were flying around franticly as he continued to shout.

"I don't care if I wake her up, yeah! I don't care if I wake everyone up!"

Sasori rubbed his temples. All this shouting was making his head hurt.

"You're overreacting Deidara."

Deidara glared at Sasori, who hadn't even turned to face him.

"Am I? I thought we were partners, yeah. I thought we were friends."

"We are partners, you idiot. But only partners. We're not friends. I don't need any friends. Getting tied to others only makes things complicated. I choose not to attach myself to anyone."

"No ties huh? Then prove it to me, yeah." Deidara walked towards the bed to grab Sakura, "Hand over that girl."

Sasori spun and punched the blond directly in the gut.

Deidara fell backwards and clutched his middle as blood burst from his mouth.

"Don't touch her. She belongs to me."

Deidara wiped his mouth with his sleeve and pushed himself up.

"Bullshit, no ties. Who are you trying to lie to, yeah? Me or yourself?"

Deidara turned and walked out of the room, leaving Sasori to ponder that question.

* * *

Kisame was still lounging around on the couch when he thought he heard somebody yelling.

"Hey Kakuzu, did you hear that? It sounded like Deidara." he asked.

Kakuzu grunted.

"Fat lot of use you are. Maybe I should go see if I can find him."

"Don't bother, yeah." Deidara said limping in.

"Whoa, you look like someone kicked you in the nuts!"

"Not quite." Deidara groaned as he sat down. "But close enough."

"You know excessive damage to the groin area should be avoided." Kisame said sagely. "If you're injured badly, you'll never get wood again."

"Thanks for the advice, fish-breath." Deidara said, rolling his eyes. "But, speaking of nuts and wood, I think there's something you guys should know…"

* * *

Sasori looked at the kunoichi.

He had to admit, she did stir up feelings inside of him.

Hatred, lust and greed.

He wanted her. He wanted her to be his and only his.

To satisfy the needs of this human body and to come to him when he called.

He wanted to own her.

He had to admit, Deidara was right. He had unknowingly tied himself to this girl.

He had become infatuated with her and it was giving way to more and more emotions.

This girl could very well be his downfall all over again.

He needed to get some air.

* * *

"No shit!" Kisame exclaimed. "You gotta be kidding me! Since when?"

"I'm guessing since he was brought back, yeah."

"Why wouldn't he say anything about it?" Kakuzu said. "It means I'll have to change the budget to filter in his food."

Deidara stared off into the fire.

"Money is the least of our worries, yeah. He's gonna treat that girl like a princess. He's going to change."

"Do you really think he's really going to be that different?"

"I know he's already different now. I don't think we can trust him. I think that his little pink princess is starting poisoning him against us."

"Well then," Kisame leaned forward, "What are we going to do?"

* * *

Sakura finally awoke.

The room was dark but she could see the blood on the floor.

She looked for Sasori, but he was gone. Had he gone to kill Naruto?

The door which she assumed was the exit lay wide open and there was nothing holding her down.

This was her chance.

She jumped off the bed and ran.

She had to find Naruto and get him out of here even if it cost her life.

She ran down the dimly lit stone corridor and turned into another one and another and another.

She had no idea where she was but at least she was away from Sasori and hopefully closer to Naruto and safety.

She turned once more and found herself in a wide open room.

She also found herself no longer alone.

"Well fuck me, if it isn't Sasori's kunoichi, yeah. We were just talking about you."

Sakura jumped into a defensive stance. Maybe her death was more imminent than she thought.

"Saved us a lot of trouble trying to separate them, didn't she? And look, she wants to play. Shame I don't have Samehada with me."

"Stay back or I will kill you." Sakura warned, only she wished her voice sounded a little surer of itself.

Deidara looked at her with a smirk.

"You know, princess, you don't stand a chance at defeating us, yeah."

Kisame grinned at her as well; his sharp teeth making her stomach churn.

Deidara stepped towards her.

"Stay back!" She shouted.

"Hush princess, yeah. We're not going to hurt you."

"Much" Kisame added.

Sakura stepped back and right into Kakuzu who had snuck around from behind.

She let out a high pitched yelp as his strong arms gripped her from the rear and held her tightly.

"Smooth move Kakuzu. Now hand her over to me, yeah."

Sakura struggled as she was bound by black threads and shoved over towards the awaiting arms of Deidara.

The blonde grabbed her and spun her around to face him.

"You are a pretty thing aren't you, yeah?"

"Go to hell!" She yelled

"Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, yeah."

"You should have stayed there."

"I couldn't help myself. I came back for all the pretty girls, yeah. Now how about a kiss, princess?"

She winced in pain as he grabbed her by the hair and raised her face to his. His lips crushed against hers with a bruising strength. His tongue ran along her lips seeking entry but she wouldn't allow it. She jerked her head to the side, breaking the painful contact.

Deidara leered at her.

"Shy, yeah?"

Sakura spat at him.

"Hmm. Feisty too." Deidara murmured as he wiped his face.

Kisame laughed.

"We can fix that, yeah."

She grunted as he threw her onto the couch.

Deidara leaned in towards her again, when Kisame pulled him back.

"Hey, what about my turn?" he asked.

"And mine." Kakuzu added.

"You'll get your turns. I just get to go first. I want to see the look on Sasori's face when he finds out I got her before he did."

Sakura tried to scream but Deidara's lips were already pressed against hers again. His hands reached around her neck and squeezed as his hand mouths licked and bit her delicate flesh.

This was worse than a nightmare.

Tears fell from her face as she whimpered and sobbed against his lips.

"Shhh, shhh princess. I'm going to take good care of you, yeah."

The tears kept falling.

Sakura closed her eyes and wished she was somewhere else. Anywhere else.

"That's it, princess. Let it go, yeah."

* * *

**A/N: And the plot thickens...**

**I think I'll leave it there for now...**

**Let you all stew a bit.**

**I know, I'm evil.**

**Luff luff and Knuffles till next time :)**


	9. The Offer

**A/N: Well, it's Wednesday again and you all know what that means….**

**GEN'S FAN FICTION TIME!**

**Well, after that evil cliff hanger I'm sure a lot of you were thinking about hunting me down and poking me with pitchforks until I wrote the next chapter, but no need.**

**I'm here and I'm on time.**

**Don't ya just love me?**

**And seriously, check out the word number! It just keeps on going!**

**Damn I'm good.**

**Quick reminder, I don't own Naruto. Anyone who thinks I do can send me money as moron tax.**

* * *

_Sakura tried to scream but Deidara's lips were already pressed against hers again. His hands reached around her neck and squeezed as his hand mouths licked and bit her delicate flesh._

_This was worse than a nightmare._

_Tears fell from her face as she whimpered and sobbed against his lips._

"_Shhh, shhh princess. I'm going to take good care of you, yeah."_

_The tears kept falling._

_Sakura closed her eyes and wished she was somewhere else. Anywhere else._

"_That's it, princess. Let it go, yeah."_

* * *

Sasori sat on a tree limb looking out over the horizon. The sky lay filled with dark clouds heavy with rain, the light breeze was weaving playfully through his hair and the scent of the on-coming rain filled the air.

This was just what he needed. The fresh smells of nature to sooth to him and helped to cool his head.

Things were getting too intense inside. The rosette ninja was making him confused which was resulting in him acting irrationally.

He hated the fact that he had punched Deidara with enough force to cause him to cough up blood but the rash blonde deserved it. He should never have tried to grab the kunoichi in the first place. It was rude and Sasori was not one to stand for rude behavior.

It was a shame that Deidara was showing such distrust in him. He was planning to tell him about the human body. He just wanted to wait until he could control the sensations that came with it.

Still, Deidara would undoubtedly be pissed off at him for some time to come and Sasori knew that he would have to apologize if he had any chance of getting the clay artist to calm down enough not to do anything stupid.

This did not mean that they were friends but they were partners and would be relatively ineffective if they couldn't work together.

Lighting filled the sky and a roar of thunder signaled the start of a refreshing storm.

Sasori sighed as the clouds above him finally gave way to the pressure within them and opened up to pour another fresh dose of rain onto the ground below.

He rose from his perch, leapt to the ground as gracefully as a cat, and headed back inside.

"Strength through composure." He re-affirmed to himself as he opened the sealed door and stepped inside.

He couldn't let the others get to him and especially not the girl.

It was time to set things straight.

First, he would have to check on his captive and find a way to convince her to stay with him. Maybe a deal involving the kyuubi would suffice. He couldn't stop the extraction but maybe a word of farewell might placate her.

Then he would have to hunt down Deidara and attempt an apology. He knew he shouldn't have to apologize as it was the blonde's fault first but at least it would create a little bit of peace in the organization.

As he walked down the hallways, he could hear laughter coming from the common room but chose to ignore it for now. At least the others were enjoying themselves and not trying to sneak peeks at Sakura.

He turned into the corridor that had his room at the end and he saw that the door was open.

He must have left it open when he went to go get some air.

"Shit."

He ran into the room looked at the bed where he had left the unconscious girl.

The room was empty and so was his bed.

Sakura must have escaped.

"Just my fucking luck." He growled, spinning around and flew out into the corridor.

He had to track her down before she could find a way outside and contact the leaf village.

If she gave away their location, it could be a catastrophe.

How could he have been so stupid as to have let her escape? Leader was going to have his head on a spit if he found out.

Sasori ran through the hallways towards the common room. He needed to get the others to help him or else they would all be in danger.

The laughter grew louder as he approached the room and he could hear Deidara's voice whispering something to someone who was crying.

Someone with a distinctly female sob…

"Oh hell no…"

* * *

"Don't cry princess. It will all be over soon enough, yeah. Just lie back and take it."

Sakura couldn't help but cry. This wasn't how she wanted it to be. Not with some S-rank criminal. She wanted it to be with someone she cared for. Someone who cared for her.

She felt Deidara's weight shift as he tried to unzip her top.

Using all of her strength, she gave him a massive shove but it did little to move him.

"Settle petal. If you keep trying to push me off I might think you don't like me, yeah." He pushed his groin up against her leg, his arousal very evident.

Sakura kept her eyes shut and refuse to look at him, which only caused the sensations to escalate. She felt her stomach roil at the thought of what he was going to do and she dry heaved.

"Now come on princess, it can't be that bad can it? Acting like that hurts my feelings, yeah." He said with mock sincerity, "Maybe I should kiss you until you feel better."

She shut her eyes even tighter as she felt his mouth hover above her own.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER RIGHT NOW!"

Sakura's eyes flew open as she turned her head towards the voice of her potential savior.

Never in a million years did she ever think she would be glad to see the red hair of the puppet master.

"I was wondering when you'd come looking for her, Sasori, yeah."

"I said get off her Deidara!"

"But I haven't even started to have my fun yet, yeah. Not to mention these two haven't had their goes either."

Sasori's eyes barely glanced at Kakuzu and Kisame, who were now standing either side of him with vicious grins on their faces.

Sakura could see that it wouldn't take too much for these three to take him down and they knew it.

"I'm going to tell you one last time, get off--"

"No, I'm going to tell you something 'partner', what the fuck is she to you anyway, yeah? Is she really worth all this stress? I mean honestly, yeah, look in her eyes."

"She's mine. Anything that is mine is worth it. Now get off her or I will kill you."

"Oh is that so, yeah?" Deidara smirked, pulling a small clay chunk out of his pocket.

Sakura's eyes widened as she watched him roll it in his hand until it formed a small moving snake. The snake quickly curled around Sakura's neck, its cold clay scales tickling the bruised flesh from Deidara earlier attacks. It circled around until it formed a solid clay collar.

"She isn't worth shit except for a good root and an entertaining death. You try to kill me and we'll skip right to her death, yeah."

Sasori's eyes hardened and his face became like wood again. Unreadable and unreachable.

"She's useless Sasori. She's just a scared little bitch, yeah. Look at her."

Sasori's eyes met with Sakura's and for a moment, she swore they could see right through her.

* * *

Sasori could see fear in Sakura's eyes and he felt another wave of emotion hit him, but this time it was something he hadn't felt before.

For the first time in his entire life, Sasori felt like the monster she had called him.

He had caused this situation. If it wasn't for him, she would never have had to know this type of fear.

And to think, a few minutes ago he was planning to take her in this same fashion.

A pang of guilt hit him square in the gut.

He was going to force himself upon her and create that same pitiful look in her eyes.

'Strength through composure' he reminded himself.

He had to save her. He had to prove he wasn't a monster.

"She's weak. Look at her shaking, yeah."

It was hardly what he would call shaking but there was a slight tremble in her nonetheless.

"She afraid to die. She's not strong enough to be of any use to you. Why can't you see that, yeah?"

It wasn't the fear of death he saw in her eyes. Sasori was sure that she had little fear of that.

Deidara underestimated her.

He could use that to his advantage.

"Sakura-san," he called out to her, "do you fear death?"

She shook her head in mute reply.

"Are you willing to come with me?"

He watched as indecision to reply flashed through her eyes. She hesitated before giving an almost imperceptible nod.

"Very well." He turned his head toward Kakuzu.

"Kakuzu, I have a business proposition for you."

"I'm listening."

"Help me restrain Deidara and in exchange I will give you full access to my database of Suna officials with bounties on their heads which includes their last known whereabouts."

"Is the information accurate?"

"Accurate and up to date."

"Very well. Deal."

"Kisame, my deal for you is, against Kakuzu and I, there would be little chance of survival, especially considering you do not have your sword with you. Therefore, stand down and I will even throw in a bottle of sake for you with my regards."

"I would have preferred a root, but hell, sake is fine with me. I can get a girl somewhere else."

"Excellent, so we are all agreed. Deidara, as I said before, get off her."

* * *

Deidara's face turned a strange shade of red as he listen to the others turn against him.

Betrayed for a couple of files and a bottle of sake. Next time he was going to pick better cohorts.

He felt the trembling kunoichi beneath him slowly stop shaking and almost become relaxed.

FUCK! Everything was falling apart. However, he still had one ace in the hole.

"What about my little piece of art right here?" His hand fondled the clay snake that lay around her neck. "What's to stop me from killing her right now, yeah?"

"She doesn't fear death but I'm sure that you still might. If you kill her, I'll kill you. Then I bring you back to life and kill you again. Then I'll bring her back to life and let her watch me kill you again. Then I might kill you just a few more times for the hell of it. I'm sure you would make a half decent puppet."

Deidara's face went even redder.

"Fucking try it, yeah."

"You're a poor loser Deidara. I apologize for hitting you earlier but this is no way to go about revenge. If you wish, we can pit our art against each other later but as for now, you have lost. Accept it and leave."

"Fine then, yeah." He gave Sakura a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "See you soon, princess, yeah."

He got up off the girl, broke the snake from off around her neck and stood next to the couch, shoving his hands into his pockets. He turned on his heels and started to walk away. When he reached the archway, he stopped and turned his head.

"You know, Sasori, you never did answer my question before, yeah. Who are you trying to fool?"

And with that, he walked out of the room.

* * *

Sakura stared at Sasori as he confirmed the deals he had made with the others, her jaw trying to override her body's ingrown skill to mask her emotions and drop wide open.

Sasori saved her?

This couldn't possibly be real. She must still be unconscious.

She pinched herself just to make sure.

It hurt. She was definitely wide awake.

Sasori walked towards her and took her arm, pulling her up off the couch.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

She nodded her head numbly.

"Good. Come with me."

She was so shocked by the hint of sincerity in his voice she actually followed him without question or resistance.

She couldn't keep track of how many turns they made or hallways they walked through but they eventually came to a small barricaded door with complex seals and locks upon it.

Sasori held his ring up to the door and said a few words that were to quiet for even her to hear and the seal broke and the door creaked open.

There was a dripping sound coming from deep inside

He led her inside the door and she felt her feet touch water. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she looked around to see where the puppet master had brought her.

It appeared to be a cavernous dungeon and a huge metal gate at the end of it.

"Are you going to lock me in there?" she asked.

"No. this dungeon is not for you. I brought you here so you would not have to stay in a cell. I brought you here so you could make a decision."

There was a seal upon the gate and she walked closer to examine it.

It was a seal that she had never seen before.

"It's a seal to keep the jinchuriki trapped inside this cage until the time of the extraction."

"You mean Naruto's in there?"

"Yes."

"You have to let me see him."

"This is part of the decision you have to make, Sakura-san. I will allow you to say farewell to you friend and in return, you can never leave."

Sakura's face went pale.

"I will never do anything to betray my village."

"I will not ask you to. All I will ask is that you stay with me."

"Why?"

Sasori remained silent.

It was clear he would not answer.

A chance to see Naruto only once.

Sakura had to play her hand now.

"I couldn't. Not for that offer."

"Then he will die and you will take his place in that cell."

"What if I was to give you another offer?"

"What type of offer?"

Sakura steadied her voice and spoke as confidently as she could.

"If you allow me to be present when you extract the demon and allow me to heal him during the process, I will stay."

Sasori shook his head. "It is impossible to keep him alive."

"I was the apprentice to the fifth hokage. I am the best medic nin in all of the shinobi countries. You know I have the ability."

Sasori looked at her questioning look. "It could kill you. Would you die for him?"

"I will not die."

Sasori searched her features, she could tell he trying to find any clue as to if she was lying or trying to trick him.

She knew he would find none.

"I believe you. However, what you ask is more than I am willing to give. You have to provide me with more incentive."

Here it came. The final card she had left.

"I will give you my very being, the last of my innocence, and I will give it willingly."

The constant dripping prevented an absolute silence.

The two ninja stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

She had offered everything to him and she could tell by his eyes that he understood what she was willing to sacrifice.

"Do you swear?"

"I swear on my ninja way, I will give you my life and the last of my freedom in exchange for Naruto's life and freedom."

"Very well. I accept."

* * *

**A/N: I know I know. I'm amazing.**

**No need for applause, just throw money.**

**If you're too poor, how about telling me what you thought of it?**

**With that in mind, HUGE HUGGLES to my peeps out there who have reviewed. **

**It kinda sad that I get all excited and happy when I see "review alert" in my inbox.**

**Ok, then. That's all for now.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	10. Beauty

**A/N: Ok, ok, I know a lot of you are going to be thinking, what the hell? She never updates this quickly, but what can I say?**

**After the last chapter, I couldn't help myself.**

**This chapter pretty much wrote itself.**

**So, without further a due, here is chapter 10.**

**Oh wait wait, one order of business first. I don't own Naruto, however I do own an incredible brain that went psycho.**

* * *

Sakura walked into the room Sasori had prepared for her and shut the door behind her.

Her heart hung heavy.

She had just promised to give herself to a man who scared her and made her feel physically sick.

But she had to do it.

It was the most significant part of her plan and she had to remain strong.

If it wasn't for Naruto, she would have remained a weak ninja and an even weaker human being.

He was always there for her ready to give his life to protect her and now she was returning the favour.

Sasori had gone to explain to his superiors what deal he had just made with her and she hoped to hell that they would agree.

After all, what use did they have for Naruto after they had the demon? They could let him go and he could finally be safe.

That was until the Akatsuki began to fulfil whatever plan they had for all the demons.

But by the time that happened, Naruto would be home with Hinata and on his way to become Hokage.

Once he was Hogake he could protect the village. Maybe even the rest of the shinobi nations.

That was her plan.

To save the leaf villages best weapon against the Akatsuki.

When the time came for the fight between the villages and the Akatsuki, she would find a way to escape and rejoin her village and tell them all of the information that she had gathered from her time spent with them.

She would become the secret weapon that would give her friends the advantage.

All it would cost her was her virginity.

Every kunoichi was raised with the knowledge that one day they might have to use their bodies in order to protect the village and as much as that knowledge pained them, they were all prepared to make the sacrifice.

Sakura just hoped that it wouldn't all be in vain.

* * *

Deidara was fuming as he paced back and forth across his room.

It was almost possible to see the proverbial storm clouds brewing above his head.

"Fucking asshole. Threatening me in front of the others, yeah. I never wanted to join this stupid fucking organisation in the first place." He growled.

Deidara's palm mouths were gnashing their teeth, itching to get some clay to mould.

A few explosions would definitely lighten his mood but he had already been given strict orders by leader that he was not to use any of his art inside the house.

That didn't seemed fair either. It was only a part of the east wing that had been demolished and it was for a good reason too, not that he could remember what that reason was anymore, but dammit, he knew it was a good one at the time.

This was so frustrating! Everyone was telling what he could and could not do. What made things even worse was he was only trying to do it for Sasori's own good.

That girl was dangerous.

He could tell it.

She was changing Sasori and creating friction between the others.

This girl was probably more dangerous that any threat the Akatsuki had ever faced joined together.

Why couldn't anyone else see it?

"Fucking blind assholes. I hope they all die anyway, yeah."

He spat some excess saliva on the ground and stormed out of the room, grabbing his clay pouch on the way.

He needed to let off some steam.

* * *

Sasori stood in front of Leader, waiting to see what the final decision would be.

He knew it would be tough to explain the deal but he had never expected it to be this tough.

"Interesting dilemma you have put us in Sasori. You know you should have never promised her something that you could not guarantee. I'm disappointed in you."

"I know Leader-sama. I apologise."

"This new body of yours is giving you emotions again, I see. That explains why you wanted her in the first place. I can not begrudge you your human instincts regarding females. I am subject to those feelings myself."

Pein gave a sideways glance at a silent Konan who didn't even blush at what he had said.

"Still, I think we can use this to our advantage. You say she was apprentice to the fifth?"

"Yes Leader-sama."

Pein turn his back to Sasori and stood scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Sasori couldn't help but think how much of his chin was left to scratch considering how many piercings Leader had.

Pein turned around to face him again.

"Very well, Sasori. We will uphold this deal."

Sasori gave an inward sigh of relief.

"Thank you Leader-sama. You are very generous."

"There is one condition though Sasori," his rinnegan almost glowing in the dim light, "She must never seek to contact the outside world again. If I believe she will betray us, I will kill her myself."

Sasori kept his face cool as stone.

"Understood Leader-sama."

"That is all Sasori. You may go." His tone was dismissive.

Sasori turned and left.

Only once outside did he allow himself to relax.

He had upheld his end of the bargain.

Now he was going to see if she would uphold hers.

* * *

Sakura turned towards the door as Sasori entered.

"It is done." He said simply.

Sakura bowed her head.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. It was part of our deal. I always uphold my promises. I hope that you will do the same."

He stepped towards her, reaching out his and to cup her face.

Sakura turned her head away slightly. "Sasori, not yet."

"Why not?" There was no emotion in his voice.

"Until I know Naruto is safe and far away from here, I can not comply."

Sasori's eyes darkened a little.

"Sakura, don't try to swindle me. Don't you believe we will keep to our side of the agreement?"

Sakura was treading on this ice here.

"I know that you will, however I'm positive that you can't vouch for the others. Deidara has already threatened to kill me, what is to stop him from trying to murder me or Naruto?"

Sasori's eyes stopped their dark decent and he gave a slight nod.

"I see your point. Very well. I will wait until after the extraction and release to claim what you promised."

Sakura bowed her head in respect.

"Again, thank you Sasori. I will fulfil my promise after the extraction and release is complete."

"Until that time, this will be your room. You will be free to move around the base but do not enter any door that is closed. By that same token, always keep the door to your room closed and I'm certain the others will respect the rules and not enter. Do you understand?"

"I understand." She said with a nod.

"However, I will not abide by that rule in regards to your room. I will enter and leave as I please but I expect you not to do the same to my room. You will have to knock to gain entry. Do you understand?"

Sakura felt like she was being treated like a child be she nodded anyway.

"Hold out your hand."

Sakura placed her hand in front Sasori and he took it into his own.

For the first time Sakura realised how soft his hands were.

They felt comforting and strong but they were also the hands of a killer. She could not forget that.

Sasori looked into her eyes as he placed something onto her middle finger.

She looked down to see a small ring with a kanji symbol on it.

The background was pink and the symbol was that of beauty.

"This ties you to me. Through this ring, we will know where you are at any time. It will never come off. It will be attached to you until the day you die."

Sakura looked down in horror at the ring. There was nothing beautiful about it anymore.

It was like a slave chain around her neck. A symbol of her captivity.

She looked up at Sasori, her eyes burned with anger.

"I'm sorry Sakura-san. It was necessary. This ring gives you freedom amongst the Akatsuki but also ensures that you will safeguard our secrets. Without this ring, there would be no deal."

The colossal prick even managed to sound like he was sincere.

She turned away from him with her arms folded.

"Look at me."

Sakura refused to even show she heard him.

"Please turn around."

She still didn't acknowledge him.

"Very well. I can understand why you are upset. I am sorry, Sakura. But it's for your own safety. I hope you'll forgive me."

She stayed with her back turned to him until she heard the door close softly as he exited.

* * *

Deidara stood out in the rain blowing up anything that he could lay his clay on.

Hidan lay flat on his back underneath a tree with a spike through sticking through his chest trying to ignore the non-stop booms coming from the irate blonde and violent storm raging overhead.

"For fucks sake Blondie, can you keep it down? I'm trying to do a fucking ritual here, seriously!"

"Like I care." Deidara grumbled.

Hidan sat up in a flash.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT YOU FUCKING HEATHEN?"

"Settle down Hidan." Kakuzu said as he walked towards the crater filled clearing.

"Oh, look who it is. The traitor, yeah."

"I didn't betray you, you idiot. It was just business. Sasori has provided me with enough information to keep me busy bounty hunting for the next five years."

"Well whoop-de-fucking-do." Hidan said sarcastically. "Remind me to kill him later as thanks, seriously."

Deidara exploded a small pile of rocks into dust a few feet away from Kakuzu.

Kakuzu looked up at Deidara and narrowed his eyes at the blonde's sadistic grin.

"Don't stay angry at me Deidara. You know that the only thing I'm truly attracted to is money."

"That's fucking disgusting Kakuzu. Remind me not to touch any of your money incase I I get your jizz on me, seriously."

"Hidan, keep your mouth shut before I stitch it shut."

"Fuck you. Anyway, what's going on between you guys? Did I miss some shit?"

Deidara turned his attention to Hidan, one hand pointed directly at Kakuzu.

"This asshole here backstabbed me, yeah."

Kakuzu shook his head.

"It wasn't like that. Deidara is jealous of the kunoichi and tried to rape her."

"Where the fuck was I? I could have gotten some action, seriously."

"No you couldn't, Hidan, stop kidding yourself. Anyway, long story short, Sasori came in and took the girl away."

"OBJECTION, YEAH!" Deidara shouted, his face turning red.

"This isn't a court case idiot." Kakuzu murmured.

"Shut up! For starters, I'm not jealous of that princess, yeah, I just think that she's trouble and second, you forgot to tell him how you turned against me in exchange for a few files."

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. "They were very valuable files which are going to result in a lot of money."

Deidara snorted.

"Wow, it's like a fucking soap opera. Now, could you all kindly FUCK OFF and let me finish my ritual?"

"Fine" Kakuzu said and headed off to find a quiet place to train.

"Whatever,yeah." Deidara said as he deposited a handful of clay bugs onto the ground and walked off.

"Bout fucking time." Hidan grumbled as he lay back down. "Hey what the fuck are these white… DEIDARA YOU ASSHOLE!"

"KATSU!"

* * *

**A/N: Well, thanks to a generous donation from ****black55widow**** I will never have to write again. **

**So this is the end.**

**Goodbye.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**JUST KIDDING!!**

**Put down the flaming torches and pitchforks!**

**Okays then, time for me to disappear and actually do some work.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	11. Leaving the Room

**A/N: Ok, ok. I know.**

**Pitchforks and flaming torches.**

**Got it.**

**But there's a really really good reason this time. Several good reasons in fact.**

**1: Work is busy.**

**2: My laptop has refused to admit the internet exists and need to be taken to the doctors to be exorcised.**

**3: I got distracted.**

**4: I have no sex life.**

**5: I got the flu.**

**6: My brain stopped working.**

**Ok.. I know number 4 doesn't have much to do with anything but it adds to the whole scheme of things being unfair.**

**Anywho, I'm back and so is my story. **

**I'll catchya's at the bottom of the page **

**I do not own Naruto. The owner of Naruto clearly gets laid. I don't.**

* * *

The sun rose the next morning the same way it did every morning. Only this time, there were no birds singing, no bright sun peeking through the curtains and no alarm clock.

There was silence.

Sakura was awake long before the usual time she got out of bed but she didn't seem angry at all.

She felt nothing. Just regret.

The ring on her finger shined in the artificial light and her eyes filled with tears.

Her hands were sore and red from all the twisting and pulling she had done in her attempts to take of the cursed jewellery. But nothing worked.

Sakura stared at the ring on her finger.

It said 'beauty' but it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen. She felt like she had been branded like cattle.

It was her own curse mark and it was going to be with her till the end of her days.

She curled up on the bed and once more, began to cry.

* * *

Sasori sat at his bench, hovering over a broken puppet with a delicate chisel and hammer in his hands.

Sakura had ruined it during the fight. It had only taken her one punch to destroy hours of fine-tuning and careful craftsmanship. Her strength was amazing. She was amazing.

She was also distracting.

His mind snapped back to his work as one of his tools slipped and cut into his hand. He let out a slight grunt.

He looked at the crimson blood dripping from his hand and watched as it pooled on the bench next to one of the faded eyes of the puppet.

"What are you looking at?" He growled at the unblinking eye as he grabbed an old cloth and wrapped it around his hand.

The eye stared back at him, silent.

He sighed and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

"She probably hates me now." He whispered to himself. "I know I would hate me too if I were her. She must still see me as a monster."

He pulled his head up and looked around his room, his eyes falling on the tattered remains of the white dress he had offered her.

He walked over to the bed and picked up a strip of the white fabric.

He caressed it gently and imagined that Sakura was under it. Her pale skin and pink hair combining with the dress to create a rare and delicate flower, a flower whose fragrance was only to appear once in a lifetime for those who were patient enough to seek it.

"So beautiful." He murmured.

He watched as the pristine white cloth turned red as it met with the blood on his hands.

* * *

Outside of the base was a mass of craters and charred chunks of wood. Deidara viewed his work with pride.

It was wonderful to see the aftermath of his art.

The rain washed the loose topsoil down a makeshift path to a small river surrounded by blackened tree stumps.

It was perfect.

The mouths in his palms had their tongues hanging out like overworked dogs, almost panting from amount of molding they had done.

It had taken a long time but Deidara had finally calmed down.

Sasori was right to have punched him.

He would have done the same thing if Sasori had touched his clay pouch.

The kunoichi belonged to the puppet master and it was a cardinal rule among the Akatsuki; never touch what belongs to another member.

Deidara grinned as he reached into his clay pouch one last time.

Rules were meant to be broken.

* * *

Sakura's tears were interrupted by a loud growl coming from her stomach.

She had refused the food Sasori had brought her earlier and she was starting to regret it.

Glancing around the room for something to eat, she noticed a small black cloak resting in the corner.

Cautiously, she got up to investigate.

The cloak was the same design that all the Akatsuki wore, right down to the infamous red clouds.

She held it up against her body and saw that it was exactly her size.

A small note floated to the floor and she leant down to read it.

'Wear this if you choose to move outside of your room until the others become adjusted to your presence. If you do not, they might kill you by accident. Sasori.'

Sakura snorted at the note, scrunching it up and tossing it across the room.

"Kill me by accident, yeah right. Akatsuki don't kill by accident. He's just trying to make sure I don't go anywhere." she grumbled.

Still, the note clearly said that she was allowed to leave her room, provided she wore the cloak.

She looked at the piece of clothing in her arms. She wouldn't wear this. She couldn't wear it.

This was Akatsuki gear and it was against everything she stood for.

Her stomach twisted and gurgled.

She couldn't possibly. She could wait until someone brought her food.

Her tummy rumbled.

But what if no one was bringing her food? What if she sat in that room until she starved?

Her stomach growled again and again.

"Fine!" she grumbled at her belly a she grudgingly put the cloak on. "There. You happy?"

Her stomach made one last grunt and fell silent.

"Great. I'm even losing fights to my appetite now." Sakura said, throwing her arms into the air.

The cloak moved with her and she brought her attention back to the article of clothing.

It was lighter than she thought and the fabric moved silently and gracefully.

Despite the fact that the design was often the last thing many people saw, Sakura could not deny that it was one of the most beautifully crafted things she had ever seen.

She twirled in it just to feel the movement and the fabric spun around her with an elegance not often seen in clothing.

But still, it was an Akatsuki cloak and therefore was not meant to be enjoyed.

She turned to the door and walked towards it with her head high and her back straight.

She was about to enter the lions den all over again and needed to show strength.

"I am strong. I am smart. I am Sakura Haruno, ANBU captain and kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves. I will not give up and I will not give in. I will rescue Naruto and I will go home."

She reached out to the handle on the door.

"I am strong. I am smart. I am Sakura Haruno, ANBU captain and kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves. I will not give up and I will not give in. I will rescue Naruto and I will go home."

Her hand grasped it firmly and turned.

"I am strong. I am smart. I am Sakura Haruno, ANBU captain and kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves. I will not give up and I will not give in. I will rescue Naruto and I will go home."

The door opened.

"I am strong. I am smart. I am Sakura Haruno, ANBU captain and kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves. I will not give up and I will not give in. I will rescue Naruto and I will go home."

Sakura Haruno, ANBU captain and kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves stepped through the door and shut it behind her.

* * *

Hidan stood at the kitchen bench bashing a poor piece of raw meat with a mallet.

Kakuzu stared at him with a look of disgust while Kisame cheered him on.

"BEAT THAT MEAT! GO HARD! BANG IT GOOD!"

"Kisame, you're making it sound like he's masturbating."

Hidans face was contorted in pleasure as he let the poor steak have it.

"Come on Kakuzu, look at him. For him, this is masturbating."

Kakuzu's face went slightly pale as he stood up to turn away.

"Suddenly, I'm not hungry anymore."

Kisame laughed raucously and slapped his knee.

His laughter stopped suddenly as he saw pink hair accompanied by black clothing.

"Well, well. Look who's out and about. Care to sit by me sweet cheeks?" He grinned, rubbing his hand suggestively on the seat next to him.

Kakuzu watched as the kunoichi calmly sat next to Kisame and reached for a piece of fruit.

"Does Sasori know you're out of your room?" He asked coolly.

Sakura did not respond. She just sat quietly and bit into the soft flesh of a peach.

Hidan stood with the mallet still raised above his head and watched as the girl ate her fruit as though she was the only one in the room.

"Hey pink bitch, want some meat?" Hidan said in a provocative tone.

Sakura ignored him.

"I said 'Hey pink bitch, want some meat?' You deaf?" Hidan said again.

"I think she's ignoring you Hidan." Kakuzu walked towards the quiet girl.

"Fucking slut. Why would she be ignoring me?"

"Because that's what I try to do every day." Kakuzu replied calmly.

Hidan glared at Kakuzu, whose attention seem to be solely on the girl eating the peach.

"Kunoichi, it's rude to ignore people. You know that right?"

Sakura continued to eat her peach in silence.

"If you continue to be rude, I might get angry."

"Easy Kakuzu, we made a deal remember?" Kisame reminded him.

"I remember. I'm sure she remembers too. The deal was we save her from Deidara. We did that. We were never told that we had to save her from ourselves. Always pay attention to the fine print, Kisame."

Sakura stiffened slightly.

"Kakuzu, you're one hell of a businessman."

"Thank you. Now, kunoichi, care to join in the conversation or shall I take it somewhere more private?"

Sakura swallowed her last bite and placed the seed on the bench in front of her.

"I have a name."

"I'm sure you do, kunoichi."

"Then kindly address me by it or I might get angry."

Kakuzu grinned beneath his mask.

This girl was interesting.

"Very well Sakura. Now tell me, why are you out of your room?"

"Sasori said I could move freely around the compound. He knows where I am at any time so I have nothing to fear from you."

"How does he know where you are?"

Sakura held out her hand.

"This."

"Fuck me." Hidan exclaimed. "Where the fuck did she get that?"

The light shone of the ring on her middle finger.

"That's pretty. Beauty. I like it. Suits her too. Sure as hell beats 'south'."

Kakuzu stared quietly at the ring.

"So you see, I am not to be harmed." Sakura said softly, hiding her hand in her sleeves again.

Kakuzu nodded.

That ring was different to the others.

He could feel it.

Leader was up to something.

"Hidan, I believe our guest would like something more substantial than fruit. Get out another steak for her. She looks hungry."

"What am I? A fucking slave? Fuck that, she can get it herself."

A single black thread began to wave menacingly over Hidan head.

"Sakura, have you ever eaten a human before?"

"No, but are you sure that Hidan qualifies as human?"

"I see your point."

"However," she continued with a perfectly straight face, "in my professional medical opinion, I hear that the testicles of any creature contain many beneficial vitamins and are delicious when served with plum sauce."

"Very well. Hidan, get Sakura a steak or I will feed her your left nut."

Hidan looked at the two serious faces staring at him from across the counter.

"Fine. But just this once, you got that fuckbag?" He grumbled, turning to the fridge.

Kisame couldn't hold it in any more. He burst out laughing and slapped Sakura on the back.

Sakura coughed a little from the force and gave a weak smile back.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, not a bad way to get the ball rolling again.**

**(Puts on cheesy TV host voice.)**

**And now, time for Q&A with Gen!**

**Welcome everyone to Q&A time with Gen. Today we have a question from Bibi. (applause)**

**Ok Bibi, what question would you like to ask our adorable author?**

_**Is it difficult to write a fanfiction?**_

**Oooh, good question. Ok Gen, what is your answer?**

**Yes it is difficult writing fan fiction, just like it is writing anything.**

**But that's part of the fun. The challenge. Feeling the words flow through you and the ideas just run straight for your head to your fingers. It's beautiful.**

**My only advice is, don't give up. What may seem strange and different to some may be stunning and imaginative for others. Discover your writing style and just let it happen.**

**Remember, as long as you enjoy what you've written, bugger everyone else. That's why we write. To express. Not to conform. **

**And there you have it. Straight from the loveless hermits mouth.**

**That's all from Q&A Time with Gen. Untill next time, I'm your host, Cheesy Voiced Dude. (applause)**

**(Cut cheesy voice.)**

**Ok, I'm spent.**

**I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as my ass wakes up.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	12. Away From Everything

**A/N: ****Never fear! Gen is here!**

**Wait… maybe you should be afraid…**

**Ok, strike that. **

**Be scared out of your wits! Cos here comes Gen's tits!**

**No, no that's not right either…**

**Damn.**

**Ah! I have it!**

**BLAST AND BOTHERATION. DAMNATION TO THE WORLD!**

**Smeh, that'll do.**

**Ok, well, I bet you all missed me terribly. There, there. There, there.**

**I'm getting back into the swing of things but am yet to have any chance of doing some... "research".**

**And why is it that as a librarian, I seem to be doing the principals job? YAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGG**

**But**** hell. I can't complain that much. **

**Life goes on… for some.. **

**Speaking of going on, here comes some story for all you freaky darlings out there.**

**And once again, I do not own Naruto but I am head of Toshogakure no Sato. (look up Tosho and you'll understand.. oh I'm so clever..)**

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'VE DISSAPEARED?!?"

Shizune ducked just in time to avoid a well thrown chair.

"Hokage-sama, please don't destroy the furniture."

"I'll destroy whatever I bloody well like!" Tsunade roared as she threw a few medical scrolls which embedded themselves into the wall.

The ANBU that stood in her office were grateful that their masks covered the look of fear on their faces.

It was a very frightening thing, being in the same room with an enraged Hokage.

"We're sorry Hokage-sama. We looked everywhere for them but their bodies were not among those left behind." Said the ANBU leader in an emotionless voice.

"FIND THEM!"

"We tried, but the trail ran cold."

"KEEP LOOKING!"

"But Hokage-"

"Don't 'but Hokage' me! I won't let them have Sakura and Naruto. I won't."

Shizune watched as her mentor swayed slightly as she walked towards the window.

"I won't let them die."

Shizune turned the ANBU team.

"I believe the Hokage wishes for you all to keep trying. Search the area again. There has to be something we've missed. Dismissed."

The squad nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Tsunade-hime, please sit down."

Tsunade turned her head towards her apprentice and friend. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and her face was drained of all color.

"Shizune, what have I done? I sent Naruto and Sakura to their deaths. I've doomed the village."

"No, you haven't."

"Yes I have." Her voice started breaking. "They'll take the fox out of Naruto and he'll die. Then they will attack the village and we can't stop them."

Shizune watched as Tsunade sank to the floor and wept.

"It's all my fault, Shizune. That damned necklace. I hoped Naruto would be ok. I thought he would survive."

She knelt down next to the weeping woman.

"I wanted him to be the next Hokage. I wanted him to fulfill Dan and Nawaki's dream."

"Shhh... shhhh..." Shizune tried to comfort her. "Naruto will be fine. Sakura will protect him."

"Sakura can't protect him."

"Tsunade, you trained her yourself. You know she's strong. She'll be fine."

"But what if they… they…"

Tsunade broke down again and hugged her knees.

"Tsunade, please. Tell me."

"Sakura was saving herself for Sasuke."

"That's a risk we all take as kunoichi. She knew it just as well as any other girl. She won't let that change her. She'll be just fine."

"Shizune, I don't think she will be."

The blonde woman looked up, her face was starting to show its true age. Tears ran down the newly formed wrinkles and her eyes appeared dull and listless.

"What's wrong? Tsunade, tell me. What is it?"

The younger woman looked into the eyes of her truest friend. They were filled with a strange fear. She had never seen that look before.

"I think Sasuke has joined the Akatsuki."

* * *

The constant dripping was starting to get on Naruto's last nerve.

"_Nice mess you got us into this time, Kit."_ Growled the demon fox.

"Shut up flea-bag. This is your fault too you know." Naruto spat back.

A husky laugh filled the dark chamber and reverberated off the unseen walls.

"_How does it feel being on this side of the cage, boy?"_

Naruto looked up at the large gate across from him and sighed. He knew exactly how the fox felt now, completely cut off from the world, locked inside darkness with nothing but misery and regret.

"_You remember how I always said I would eat you one day? I've decided I've changed my mind. It's seems rather pointless now."_

"Gee, thanks." Naruto's comment was dripping with sarcasm.

The old saying "misery loves company" was not Naruto's favourite saying right now because, unfortunately, his company was an obnoxious, egotistical, sadistic demon fox with nine tails who liked nothing more than to ridicule his host for landing them in this situation.

"_Oh no need to thank me, brat. Thank these Akatsuki dorks. They're the ones that are going to free me and from what I can tell, it's going to be extremely painful for you. Not to mention deadly. I'm quite looking forward to it."_

His menacing laughter filled the cavern once again, drowning out the sound of the dripping water.

"They're not going to free you. They're just going to transfer you to another type of prison."

"_Either way, boy, you still die. You'll be just as dead as your team, not to mention that tasty pink haired bitch you cared about so much."_

The air around Naruto became hotter as his temperature rose in anger.

"SHUT UP ASSHOLE. SAKURA ISN'T DEAD!"

The giant foxes face became filled with a grisly fang-filled grin.

"_What makes you so sure of that?"_

"I just know, ok? Sakura isn't dead."

"_You just keep telling yourself that, kid."_

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of his cell mates maniacal laughter.

He could almost feel the word around him turning, leaving him behind and moving everyone else further and further away from him.

Everyone except Sakura.

"She isn't dead. I just know it."

* * *

A man clouded in shadow, leaned back in his chair as the light from the torches danced on the walls.

The air was still and filled with an unfathomable malevolence.

His voice was that of gravel running across a stone path.

"Well, does she have it?"

A second figure stepped from the shadows.

His voice was smooth like liquid silk.

"Yes."

"Excellent. She's now tied to us forever."

The gravel voiced man tossed a second ring into the air and snatched back as it fell.

"Now we just need to get _him_ to wear this one." He rumbled as he studied the glinting ring. "Then we can start building our new world."

A ruthless laughter echoed around the room as light danced onto a single smiling sharingan eye.

* * *

**A/N: ****Oooh more suspense.**

**I loves it!**

**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! *cough cough***

**Ack! Furballs. Wait….. wtf? Furballs?**

**Oh yeah.. that's right.. Hey anyone want a kitten?**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	13. Unlucky Number

**A/N: I have decided I wish to stab my boss in the neck with a spoon.**

**Not a serrated spoon. Not a spork. Just your average, run-of-the-mill spoon.**

**Sure, it would be difficult but the end result would be so incredibly worth it.**

**Not that I'm really angry or anything… I'm just hungry : (**

**Wait, that came out really wrong.**

**Just to clarify, I don't wish to eat my principal with a spoon, just cause his demise. **

**I'm hungry for pizza, not principal.**

**Anywho, time for story.**

**And once again, Naruto is not mine. If it was, Sasuke would have killed Orochimaru via spoon to the neck.**

* * *

Sasori held up the puppet and admired his work.

"Much better." He sighed, placing the lifeless shell on a hook on the wall.

He looked around the room for something else to do. He had no intention of leaving his room for the next few hours, maybe even days, until his kunoichi was no longer mad at him.

Unfortunately, everything was perfect. There was nothing else he needed to do.

Looking at the bed, he decided to try get some sleep. He laid his head down onto the pillows and immediately felt his senses overrun by the subtle scent of the beds previous occupant.

"Damn."

There was no chance he could sleep with that smell filling his head.

He got back up and walked over to his work bench again.

This was silly.

Clearly, he was overreacting. Sakura didn't need time to calm down. She was a strong girl. She would be over it already… he hoped.

Anyway, since when was the infamous puppet master of the Akatsuki afraid of a woman?

He stood up, strength renewed, and headed for the door.

As he walked down the hall he began to feel just a little less sure of himself.

What was that saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?

Sasori's confident stride faltered a little.

No, either way he had to make contact with her. Even if it was just to remind himself that she was still there and not a figment of his imagination.

The door loomed in front of him. It was almost intimidating.

Maybe he should give it another hour or two.

He shook his head and prepared himself mentally for the inevitable onslaught of insults and potential punches.

"Well, at least she doesn't have her chakra back yet." He mused.

Subconsciously, he ran his fingers through his hair, straightened his shirt and took a slow breath to steady himself. Then he opened the door.

"Shit."

Empty.

Again.

Sasori slammed the door shut and mentally cursed himself for not keeping a closer eye on her.

Using his chakra, he searched to make sure she hadn't been stupid enough to try to escape.

Thankfully she was still inside the base, though somehow, she had found her way to the main part of base where everyone usually passed the time.

Without a word, he took off.

Surely she couldn't have forgotten Deidara might very well still try to hurt her? After all, the idiot of a blonde had never put much stock into the Akatsuki's priorities.

He stopped in his tracks as he heard an unusual sound.

It sounded like female laughter.

He had never heard a laugh quite like it. It was light and airy and seemed to dance around the dank halls. It felt so out of place.

It had to be Sakura.

He walked toward the hypnotising sound into the kitchen and there he found his pink haired kunoichi sitting between Kisame and Kakuzu, giggling like a school girl at Hidan who was swearing at the stove while clutching his hand.

"Fucking bitch-ass motherfucker! If you weren't a fucking inanimate object I swear to Jashin I would sacrifice your sadistic fucking ass, seriously!"

"Sakura."

Sakura turned around with tears in her eyes, clutching her stomach in amusement. That amusement quickly disappeared as her eyes met with the emotionless eyes of Sasori.

"What do you want?" she said with loathing in her voice.

"Come."

"Come? I'm not your pet, Sasori."

Sasori shrugged.

"I wish to speak with you."

"Well I don't wish to speak to you. Leave me alone."

This was getting him nowhere.

"Sakura, I insist."

"Insist all you want. I'm quite happy here watching Hidan get his ass handed to him by the kitchen appliances."

The puppet masters eyes darkened.

"Sakura-"

Kisame could feel the tension rising between the two, so he wrapped his arm around the girl at his side.

"Come on Sasori, Pinky and us were just about to have something to eat."

Sasori shot a quick death glare at Kisame then turned his gaze to Sakura, eyebrow raised.

"Pinky?"

"Suits her cos of her hair." Kisame said proudly.

He couldn't deny that the name didn't have a certain charm about it.

"It turns out that Sakura is far more interesting than we first gave her credit for." Kakuzu added. "Her conversation is also more enjoyable than some others."

He turned his gaze toward Hidan, who was still telling the stove of the untold horrors that awaited those who cross the path of a follower of Jashin.

"I see. Very well. She may stay but remember, no one is to lay a hand on her. She still has a part in our deal to fulfil."

His eyes locked onto hers and gave an imperceptible smile as her cheeks turn a delicate shade of pink.

Kakuzu watched as Sasori left then looked at the blushing kunoichi with speculative eyes.

Kisame leaned over towards him.

"Hey Kakuzu, I think I missed something." Kisame whispered. "What deal?"

* * *

Deidara watched Sasori leave the common area and head back in the direction of the sleeping quarters.

He gave a lopsided smirk and walked casually towards the kitchen.

"Hey princess." He said in a cavalier fashion.

Sakura groaned and turned away.

"Do I have a sign on my head say 'asshole conversationalist'? Piss off."

"I just wanted to apologise for earlier, yeah. It was nothing against you personally."

Sakura snorted.

"I just wanted to get under Sasori's skin, yeah. He's so stuck up all the time."

Kakuzu looked at Deidara, non-believingly.

"So what do you say, friends, yeah?"

"No."

Deidara gave an inward smile. This was going to be harder than he thought, but it had been a while since he had a challenge.

"Hey, I understand entirely how you could have gotten the wrong idea but I-"

Sakura turned with her eyes full of green fire.

"Wrong idea? WRONG IDEA? You tried to fucking rape me! I don't see how anyone could get the wrong idea from that."

"She does have a point there, you know." Kisame pointed out.

"No one was talking to you, Fish-breath, yeah."

Kisame put his hands up and swung back around to face the bench.

"So, anyways, I'm really sorry princess, yeah. I think we should just put this all behind us and start afresh." He put his hand out to shake Sakura's. "Hi, I'm Deidara."

Sakura glared at his hand and turned away.

"Bye. I'm not interested."

Deidara could feel his face getting warmer. Why was she being so damn rude?

"Come on princess, I'm putting in a real effort here."

"Ok, first; my name is Sakura, not princess and second; I despised you with a passion."

"I knew you had passionate feelings for me, yeah" He countered with his unbalanced smirk.

"Arrrg! You are so annoying!" she growled.

"And you're cute when you angry, yeah."

"Deidara, can I talk to you outside?" Kakuzu said diplomatically.

Deidara completely ignored him and continued staring at Sakura.

"Deidara, now."

"Sure, whatever, yeah."

Kakuzu sighed and grabbed Deidara by the collar and dragged him out of the kitchen.

Deidara blew a kiss towards Sakura who returned the gesture with her middle finger raised.

* * *

"What the hell are you trying to do, Deidara? You're plan earlier failed. Get over it and stop trying to piss her off."

Deidara gave him a grin.

"I'm not trying to piss her off. I'm succeeding at pissing her off."

"Well, whatever you're trying to do, stop it."

"What can I say, yeah? I love a challenge."

"She's not yours to challenge."

"Don't tell me you're still siding with Sasori?"

"No. I have no loyalties to either of you. But just so you know, she has a ring."

Deidara's eyes widened a little.

"Where did she get it?"

"My guess is Leader gave it to her."

Kakuzu watched as the wheels in the blondes head turned.

He loved being the bearer of bad news.

"So you see, Deidara," he continued, "He has a plan for her and it is my presumption that we are not to interrupt. So no trying to kill her. Understood?"

"I wasn't planning on killing her."

"Somehow, I just don't trust you. Stay away from her."

"But I-"

"No buts." He said firmly.

"Ok, ok. No buts, yeah."

Kakuzu nodded and began to walk away.

The blonde gave a sadistic smile. "How about bets?"

Something inside of Kakuzu stirred as he stopped mid-stride.

He wasn't one for giving up the chance to make some easy money.

"What kind of bet?" he asked speculatively.

"It's actually pretty harmless, yeah. All I have to do is seduce the girl before Sasori."

Kakuzu had just seen how much Sakura despised Deidara. This could very well be some incredibly trouble-free money.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch. You just can't tell her or anyone else about it, yeah."

Kakuzu nodded.

"And," Deidara continued, "You can't interfere, yeah."

"And if you fail?"

"I'll give you my paycheck for a month."

Kakuzu snorted and turned away. He wouldn't even bother getting out of bed for a months wages.

"Ok then. Six months, yeah."

He spun back around and his eyes narrowed.

"What's in it for you if you win?"

The light gleamed in Deidara's eyes.

"I just get to beat Sasori, yeah. That's all."

Somehow, he didn't quite trust the overconfident blonde. But then again, he was always trying to outdo his partner. This could just be another one of those internal battles between the duo.

Either way, Sakura hated the clay user even more than she hated Sasori. The odds on winning this bet were pretty good.

"One year's wages and you have a bet."

"Eight months"

"Ten."

"Nine, yeah."

"Deal"

* * *

Sakura sat at the kitchen bench, fuming. How dare Sasori waltz in and demand her to go with him? Then Deidara just comes in expecting her to completely forget what he had tried to do earlier. If she only had her chakra, they'd both end up crying themselves to sleep every time they even thought about laying a finger on her.

Kisame watched her with fascination.

"Hey Pinky, you ok?"

"Do I look ok?!" she half shouted at him.

He was more than a little surprised at the volume of her voice.

"Whoa, watch the decibels there sweetheart. I still want to be able to hear by the end of the week." He said rubbing his ear.

"Whatever, I'm sorry. It's just, you know, arrrg! What is it with those assholes? Is being an emotionally retarded nut-job a requirement for all Akatsuki members?"

Kisame looked a little taken aback by her last statement.

"Hey, I'm not an emotionally retarded nut-job."

"No," she said rolling her eyes, "It's completely natural to enjoy chopping off limbs."

"Shave."

Sakura looked at him sideways. "What?"

"Samehada doesn't "chop", it shaves."

"Whatever." she mumbled. "My point is, they're assholes."

"Who's an asshole, yeah?" Deidara walked in with an upbeat smile plastered on his face.

"Gee, I wonder." She replied sarcastically.

Deidara sat at the far end of the breakfast bar.

"Yo Hidan, when you're done getting your jollies from the stove, could you throw on some food for me, yeah?

Hidan looked at Deidara with his jaw open.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! Since when did I fucking become the kitchen bitch?! No! No fucking way."

"Come on Hidan, I think you would look great in a frilly apron, yeah. It would match your eyes."

"Oh fuck you!" He grabbed a knife from off the bench and threw it directly at Deidara's head.

Deidara expertly caught it and twirled it around his fingers.

Kisame laughed and Kakuzu raised his palm to his face.

"Damn it Hidan," Sakura sighed, "You missed."

* * *

The rain fell heavily onto the straw hat of a lone figure.

His dark onyx eyes gazed out over the mass of concrete and steel with disdain. This village had no beauty to it. There was only one place he could remember that had a natural feel of splendour and he hated that place with every fibre of his being.

That place had ripped his family apart and given him a life that he despised with every breath.

Soon enough though, it would all fade away.

He would see that place burn to the ground with black flames and watch as its people finally become scattered to the winds.

He would bring suffering to every last man, woman and child and finally have his release.

He would destroy the village hidden in the leaves and finally have his vengeance.

He would rebirth his clan and finally have a family.

He would do it all and finally be free.

* * *

"Pein?" Her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Yes, my love?" His hand snaked up her thigh.

She whimpered in anticipation.

"Does he know about the girl?"

His lips pressed against her neck.

Her head arched back and she let out a soft moan.

"Not yet." He grabbed her hair and pulled her into a rough kiss.

"Good." She purred.

"Why do you ask, my love?"

His lips were back against her throat.

"I want to watch her cry. I want to see her face as her heart breaks." Konan sighed into his orange hair. "I want to hear her suffering when he tells her about why he came to us."

He lifted his rinnegan eyes and stared into her deep blue ones.

"I love you." He growled, kissing her roughly again.

"I know." She whispered.

* * *

**A/N: So, how was that? The plot just keeps getting thicker and thicker. Just like my dad's soup…**

**Oh btw, a quick WH000000T!!!! for me and my 100 reviews.**

**You guys are great. You make me feel fluffy.**

**Oh, and to everyone that keeps telling to "update soon" I'm trying dammit!**

**Also, the chapters are short because I'm lazy.**

**Not that I'm pissy. I'm not going to be attacking you guys in the middle of the night armed with nothing but a spoon. Not at all. **

**I'm just letting everyone know so I don't have to send messages to everyone begging their forgiveness.**

**Well, anywho, I need a coffee, so that's it for now.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	14. Training

**A/N: Here we go again. I have a bottle of red eye and a packet of salt and vinegar chips and nothing much else to do, so I'm thinking, hell, why not just pull out another chapter.**

**It's cos I'm awesome like that.**

**Sadly, there have been no spoon related deaths at my work yet, but there was a burnt hand. (I had nothing to do with that, I swear.)**

**But enough of that, time for story.**

**I don't own Naruto, but if you didn't know that already, you deserve a burnt hand.**

* * *

The blank walls around Sakura were starting to really get on her nerves.

Back in Konoha her walls were covered with pictures of her family and loved ones. Here there was nothing but grey stone.

She hated the colour grey. It was too bland for her nature. It made her feel dull and tired.

Her muscles ached with boredom.

What she wouldn't give for a few hours of training.

Any excuse to get outside and feel a breeze on her face and grass between her toes.

Unfortunately, her ring only gave her access to places inside of the base, not outside.

The only chance she would ever have of getting outside is if she got one of the others to join her.

Maybe she could ask if one of them wanted to spar with her. But then again, without her chakra, it wasn't going to be very much of a fight.

Damned Sasori. If she wasn't still mad at him, she'd ask him if he could give back her access to it, even just a little bit would be better than none.

Anyway, it's not like he would say no. He wanted to get into her pants, he'd do anything to make her happy… wouldn't he?

She growled and punched her pillow.

This was so frustrating!

She just to break something, or someone…

The pillow she had punched suffered some more abuse and was hurled at the door, incidentally at the exact same time that Sasori walked through it.

Sasori must have forgotten his ninja skills for a split second because the pillow smacked him square in the face and knocked him halfway back into the hallway.

Naturally, an unexpected pillow the face of anyone was enough brighten up Sakura's mood and she couldn't help but laugh at the look of absolute surprise on the red-heads face.

In fact, she literally fell backwards as she pointed and laughed at the less than amused Sasori.

"You should see your face." She giggled, holding her sides. "I can't believe that actually hit you!"

He watched her calmly until she had finally stopped laughing.

"Done?" he asked.

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

She kept nodding at him.

"It's wasn't really that funny, you know."

Her cheeks were red and her lips were pursed as she tried to hold back another bout of laughter.

"Alright, just let it out Sakura. I can't talk to you until you're done."

She nodded again and burst out laughing for another few minutes.

Sasori stood at the doorway observing the pillow that lay still on the ground.

He lifted his nose haughtily and turned to face something else

Sakura couldn't stop herself from laughing at the stuck up way he had regarded the pillow and continued to laugh for a little while longer until she could laugh no more.

"Ok, ok. I think I'm done." Sakura was breathing heavily for exertion.

That much laughter could really take it out of you.

He looked at her sideways, his eyes untrusting.

"I'm good, I'm good. Carry on." She heaved.

"Good. I think it's time you got back to training."

The left over giggles stopped immediately.

"Wait… What?" Sakura blinked.

Sasori cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"If you really do intend on surviving this attempt to save your friend, then you're going to need to be in top physical condition. You can't do this alone. So you will be training with different members for different skills."

Sakura nodded, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I will be teaching you chakra control-"

"Hold it right there pillow-face, I don't need you to teach me anything. I was appren-"

"Apprentice to the fifth Hokage. I know. Stop interrupting me and be quiet."

Sakura was about to say something back but quickly decided against it. If he was teaching her chakra control then he was going to let her use her chakra again.

"Now, as I was saying, I will teach you chakra control, Kisame will teach you stamina and Kakuzu will teach you anatomy with the help of Hidan."

(Sakura didn't even want to think about what that entailed…)

"Zetsu, when he feels like it, will teach you about healing plants and such but be careful around him. He bites."

Sakura let out a little smile but it quickly faded when she realised Sasori wasn't joking about the mysterious plant-man.

"Any questions?"

"Will Deidara be teaching me anything?"

"What on earth do you think that idiot could teach you?" Sasori gave a snort.

"Nothing. I just want him as a sparring partner."

Sasori looked intrigued.

"Why would you choose him?"

Sakura gave the sweetest smile she could muster.

"I just want to beat the crap out of him."

A glint of amusement flashed in Sasori's eyes and Sakura took that to mean yes.

"Come to my room in 2 hours and I'll remove the limitations on your chakra."

Sakura nodded and waited until Sasori had left the room and shut the door before she jumped onto the bed and danced for joy.

Things were looking up.

* * *

Sasori gave a smile as he shut the door, hearing the kunoichi squeal with glee and jump around.

At least he had done something to make her happy.

He wasn't really too keen on the idea of her hanging around the other members, but Leader had insisted on it. He said that she needed to become strong and that strength could only come from the others.

He was a little suspicious of leaders motives, but he had never questioned them before and he wasn't about to start now.

Not when his life was finally getting worth living.

* * *

Sakura had never felt better. Her chakra rolled and danced all around her insides, healing every little scratch and bump on her body.

The feeling of finally being whole again was almost too much for her to bear and she hugged Sasori in thanks before she could stop herself.

Sasori stood there with an uncomfortable look on his face and Sakura's face turned bright pink.

"I, umm, it's just, you know," She started mumbling.

Sasori gave a simple nod that conveyed his understanding.

She contemplated punching him just as retribution for blocking it off from her in the first place but just as quickly dismissed the thought.

"Remember Sakura, having your chakra is a privilege, not a right. I expect you to behave."

Sakura pouted.

"Sakura." He said reproachfully.

She gave her best dramatic sigh.

"Fine. I'll try. No promises though. Deidara might get a broken jaw every now and again. But just so you know in advance, I didn't mean to. It was clearly and accident."

Sasori's face did not smile but his amusement was clearly written in his eyes.

"How can it be an accident if you have even done it yet?"

"I'm just giving you a heads up so we can collaborate our stories faster just incase."

A light chuckle left Sasori's mouth and Sakura beamed back at him.

Finally the man with the frostbitten asshole was warming up.

The sooner he trusted her, the sooner she could exploit that trust.

She was a kunoichi after all and she did have a duty to perform for her village and her friends.

Especially to Naruto.

She gave a sigh as she thought of her hyperactive friend.

* * *

Sasori looked cautiously at the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

He knew what she was upset about.

It was quite obvious considering the fact that she hadn't mentioned Naruto for a while and it was clearly putting a strain on the young woman's nerves.

He knew all too well the pain that came with caring about someone so deeply, yet not talking about them at all.

He had done the exact same thing when his parents had died. He carried on with what he knew and tried to keep everything locked up inside.

Maybe that was why they all thought him to be insane…

Hopefully she wasn't going to end up like him. He liked the way her emotions ruled her face. It made her look like a truly living doll.

Her anger, her fear, even the way her heart broke as she thought about her friends, everything about her emotions made her fascinating.

Unlike him, she was truly alive.

He guessed the only reason why she was trying to hide it was because she was worried about losing face in front of the others.

She tried so hard to appear strong. It was part on the ninja code. A ninja must be free of all emotions.

The poor girl must have been told off a lot for never mastering that value.

Sasori considered asking her if she wanted to talk about it, but he knew he was lacking in the sensitivity department most of the time and would probably say something stupidly insensitive and end up making the girl irate all over again.

An irate kunoichi was not what Sasori wanted to deal with right now.

Instead, he took her hand and kissed it.

* * *

Sakura's train of thought stopped immediately.

Her hand felt warm and Sasori's lips felt soft against the burning skin.

Her face flushed but she didn't move her hand.

Sasori gave her a smile. An authentic smile.

It was comforting but not demeaning.

How was it he always seemed to know what she was thinking?

She knew he could read her emotions but knew he understood better than to point it out.

It was almost like he knew her better than she knew herself.

He always figured out exactly how to reassure her without making her feel like a failure.

She gave him a weak smile.

He nodded in return and stood up, their hands still locked together.

She was almost afraid to let go.

She stared into his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but his gaze had turned emotionless and empty.

"Shall we start the lesson?" He asked quietly.

Sakura removed her hand from his and quietly nodded.

* * *

Kisame watched as the kunoichi pushed the green chakra into her arm.

He had to admit she was good, but not good enough to completely dodge his last swing of Samehada.

"Getting tired, Pinky?" he called out.

Sakura stood straight and grinned back at him.

"Not at all."

He fist hit the ground and created a massive rift in the training ground.

Kisame felt his groin stir.

Damn she was strong.

He'd always had a thing for strong women. Not many girls survived long after he was done with them and none of them gave it back as good as he gave it.

If it wasn't for her ridiculous pink hair, she would be the perfect partner.

His mind must have wandered a little too far as she appeared from behind him and gave him a strong kick to the arm.

He felt the bones shatter and his arm went limp.

Oh she was good.

He countered with another swing of his sword and caught her with his fist as she tried to jump out of the way.

She went hurtling back into a tree and landed on the ground with a thump.

Kisame laughed and prepared himself for another strike as she spat out some blood and tried to rise again.

"Enough." Sasori said from the sidelines.

"Aw come on. We were just getting started."

He watched the red heads gaze shift over to the panting girl.

"No. I think that's all she can handle for today. She needs to shower, eat and rest."

Sakura raised her head and pouted.

"But I want to keep on playing."

Kisame gave a loud, rumbling laugh.

"You're my type of girl alright, Pinky."

She smiled back at him, her hand pressing healing chakra into her hip.

Kisame felt his arm throb and gave a slight wince.

"What up Bluey? Get hurt?"

Kisame's eyebrows lifted.

"Bluey?" he said incredulously.

Sakura gave him another smile.

"Oh I get it," he said laughing. "Ok, Pinky, Bluey it is. Now can you fix my arm?"

"Sure." She walked over and placed her hands over his arms.

Her chakra was cool and relaxing.

"Hmm." She said, clearly in medic-mode. "Seems every bone was shattered."

Kisame grimaced, "Gee, I wonder how that happened…"

Sakura poked her tongue out at him and went back to healing his arm.

Her chakra numbed the pain but he could still feel the bones shifting and moving back into place.

The girl was good.

Eventually he felt her chakra leave his body.

"There, all done." She said. "Now, It still needs to do a bit of healing on it's own, so don't push it for then next 24 hours or so."

"But-"

"No buts. Follow your doctor's orders or you won't get a lollipop."

"Fine." He said smiling. "But next time you heal me, I expect you to be doing it in a cute little nurse's outfit."

Sakura gave him a light punch in his sore arm.

He winced again but continued smiling.

"Ahem." Sasori cleared his throat.

Sakura quickly looked back at the puppet master and blushed.

"Oh, right. I should be going." She turned and ran back towards Sasori's side, waving at him as she left. "Catchya Bluey."

"Cya later Pinky." He grinned.

* * *

"I was very impressed with your training today Sakura." Sasori said amiably as they walked to Sakura's room. "You're not quite at Akatsuki level yet, but you do have some skill."

Sakura smirked at him.

"Don't forget, I've killed you before." She said darkly.

Sasori nodded.

"And I've beaten you. Hence why you're here. You only beat me before because of my grandmother and the only reason I chose not to kill you was because you interest me."

Sakura stopped walking and glared at Sasori.

Noticing that she was no longer next to him, he stopped and turned around.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

Her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

'_Damn. I've said something stupid again.__ I'd better fix this.'_

Sasori walked up to her and could see the hurt in her eyes.

"Sakura, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." He wasn't sure if she was going to spit on him or slap him.

"I'm not use to giving compliments so I'm not sure if this is going to sound ok." He cleared his throat. "Sakura, you are a very talented fighter but you don't have the skill of an s-class ninja. It's most likely because you're a girl and you have something we don't."

Sakura's eyes hardened and her chakra became menacing.

"This isn't coming out right is it?" he sighed.

Sakura gave her head a slow shake.

"Ok, just bear with me on this." He took her hand in his. "Sakura, you are amazing. You have so much potential and I know that soon you will be just as strong, if not stronger as any Akatsuki member here."

The hate in Sakura's eyes appeared to had softened a little, so Sasori continued.

"The best part about it is, you won't learn from us to get power; you will learn so you can give your friend life. You have a great heart, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes never left his and neither did her hand.

"And so I guess, that's why I find you interesting."

* * *

Sakura's heart fluttered in her chest as she took in everything Sasori had just said.

It was obvious that the man had very little in the way of social skills and had probably never given a compliment in his life but she had never heard him sound so sincere before.

Maybe he was telling the truth?

The way he held her hand made her feel like he would never lie to her.

"Sasori?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"Thank you."

Sasori gave her a small smile and continued to walk her to her door.

* * *

Sasuke sat outside in the evening rain.

What the hell was going on?

It had been a long time since he had felt that chakra but he knew it the instant he sensed it.

Sakura.

For some reason the girl was here but no one had even thought to let him know.

She was, in spite of everything, his old team mate.

The silly girl probably still had a crush on him.

Maybe that's why she was here.

She must have run away from the village and became a missing nin to search for him.

Pathetic.

Still, he wondered what she looked like now.

Sasuke was a grown man now and had all the urges that a grown man has.

Maybe she wasn't as awkward as she used to be.

He did need to start rebuilding the Uchiha clan. Maybe the foolish girl from his childhood could still be of some use in that area.

Sasuke felt the rain around him stop.

Pein only stopped him downpour for one person.

"Konan."

The blue haired woman stepped out of the shadows and stood behind him.

"Hello Uchiha."

"What do you want?"

"Oh nothing really. I just wanted to give you this."

She handed Sasuke a small origami blossom made from pink paper.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

Konan smiled.

"It's just a little something I thought you might like."

Sasuke looked at the paper flower.

"She's still a virgin you know."

"What makes you think I care?" he growled.

"Nothing. I just thought you might like to know she's still pure. For now…" She gave a small laugh and disappeared again.

The paper blossom in Sasuke's hand became crushed as he clenched his fist.

"Damn nosey bitch." He grumbled.

* * *

**A/N: Is it just me or are the chapters getting longer?**

**And just to let you guys know, next chapter Sasuke and Sakura will be meeting…**

**Now you can all sit there and get cranky at me for making you wait. **

**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**I'm so evil. I love it.**

**Well, sadly it's back to work for me. I'll try get the next chap out soon.**

**Luff luff and knuffles till then**


	15. The Meeting

**A/N: Please don't kill me… I've been seriously run down into the ground learning a whole new job and then there was Christmas and then there was me wanting to forcibly removing my boss's spleen through his rectum! (with a spoon of course…)**

**But here we are!**

**I have overcome extreme writer block and created a new chapter all for you!**

**Yay. Feel the love :)**

**I do not own Naruto, but I do own a spoon.**

* * *

Sakura curled up in a big chair in the common area, a medical journal the size of a small encyclopedia wrapped lovingly in her arms.

She was so worn out by all the training that day, she had fallen asleep mid chapter.

Kisame had sprawled himself out on the couch, refusing to let anyone else sit down.

Hidan lay in a puddle of blood on the floor with a spike jutting out from his chest, mumbling a prayer while Kakuzu stood over him telling him off for ruining the carpet… again.

"Honestly, why can't you do this sort of thing outside? You've bled all over the carpet. Do you know how much that costs to clean up?" He complained. "I distinctly remember telling you not to do this inside the house."

Hidan ignored him and continued mumbling his prayer.

"Maybe you should rub his face in it." Kisame snorted.

Kakuzu shot him a withering stare.

"Hey, works for dogs and stuff." He grinned.

Kakuzu ignored him and turned back to Hidan, whose voice was getting louder as he reached the crescendo of his prayer.

"Hey, keep it down, dumbass." Kisame called out. "You'll wake up Pinky if you keep carrying on like that."

Hidan kept mumbling but did lower his voice little.

Apparently none of them had the heart to wake the sleep girl up. She looked angelic while she slumbered. Plus they didn't know how she would react if they did wake her.

Now she had her chakra back she was a little more dangerous.

"I swear, Hidan. One of these days I'm going to kill you." Kakuzu muttered.

Hidan's lip curled into a slight sneer but that was all that showed he had even heard him.

Deidara strolled into the area and stopped right in front of Sakura.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he watched Deidara reach out to touch her.

"Don't you even think about waking her up, Deidara." He warned.

Deidara gave him a lopsided grin and gently pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.

He immediately stopped grinning as Sakura's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, effectively snapping it in several places.

Deidara winced in pain but made no sound. Sakura's eyes opened and she smiled sweetly at him.

"It's not polite to touch people when their sleeping." She said calmly as she released his wrist.

He held it close to his chest and grimaced.

"Obviously, yeah." He replied dryly.

"My apologies Sakura, did we wake you?" Kakuzu asked politely.

"Not really. I'm used to sleeping with one eye open. Plus it's tough to really sleep with the smell of blood everywhere."

Kakuzu looked at Hidan, whose lip had curled into an even bigger sneer.

"Um, can we get back to me now? My arm is kinda broken, yeah." Deidara grumbled, the pain obvious in his voice.

"Hm?" Sakura said, turning back to him. "Oh sorry, I guess we forgot you were there."

"Oh ha ha very funny, yeah. Now can you fix this?"

"Fine. Give me your arm."

He held out his wrist for Sakura to look at. She roughly turned it over, causing him to wince in pain again.

Sakura let out a light giggle.

"What? You enjoy hurting me, yeah?"

She gave him another sweet smile.

"It's not that. It's your kekkai genkai."

"What about it, yeah?"

"Its tongue is sticking out."

Deidara looked down at his palm. The mouth on it hung open and its tongue lay rolled out like a dead dogs.

"Whatever. Just fix it." He grumbled, his cheeks turning pink.

Sakura pushed her chakra into his arm and began to reset the bones.

Deidara watched her with disguised fascination.

The look on her face was one of near contentment. Clearly she loved being a medic.

"Done" Sakura announced, breaking the silence that had subconsciously filled the room.

Deidara gave a grunt as he tested his arm.

"Don't push it too much, blondie. It still needs some time to heal on its own. I guess you're just going to have to jerk off the with other hand for a while." She said smugly.

Deidara gave her a sideways smile. "I don't need my hands for that. I can get all the ladies I want, yeah. They crave my talent."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sure they do."

"Want me to show you?" He put his arm around her shoulders.

Kisame watched as Sakura's eyes darkened a little.

"Watch it Romeo." He shouted from the couch. "I don't think she likes you touching her."

"Shut it, Kisame, yeah." Deidara scowled back.

"No, really. I don't think you want to touch her."

Deidara ignored him and squeezed Sakura closer to him.

"Come on princess. You know I'll treat you goo-"

Sakura never let him finish his sentence. She grabbed him by the arm he had placed around her and gently threw him through the wall.

Everyone in the room stared at the oddly calm kunoichi.

She brushed the imaginary dirt from her hands and sat back down with her book.

"Um, Sakura…" Kakuzu said quietly.

"Yes, Kakuzu." She replied, not even lifting her face.

"Was that really necessary? I mean, walls are expensive to replace. Not to mention, Leader doesn't quite like it when there are holes through his walls."

"Take it out of his pay." She said, pointing to a twitching foot that lay dead straight in the air. "After all, it's his fault for touching me."

"I did try to warn him." Kisame added.

Kakuzu sighed and sat down at the table. "Whatever."

* * *

Sasuke sat on the roof, tracing Sakura's chakra pattern as it moved through the building below him.

He felt it finally come to rest in the sleeping quarters of the base.

Lightening streaked across the sky, illuminating a feral grin that covered his face.

Now he knew where she slept.

He would take her tonight, whether she wanted it or not.

The weakling of a kunoichi would probably even welcome him into her bed, thinking it was a gesture of love. She probably thought that she could convince him to return to the village if she became his bed partner.

Sasuke snorted. Stupid girl.

* * *

Sasori listened to the thunder rumbling outside. He despised thunder.

There was a thunderstorm the night when his parents' bodies were brought back to the village.

Every time he heard the crash as it broke across the sky, it brought back the memories of that night.

He hated his memories. He hated the feelings they brought. He hated all feelings, except for those he felt around Sakura.

They weren't bad feelings. They were different but not bad.

If the night got any worse, he might just have to go to see Sakura to find out if the feelings she gave him were stronger than the feelings he suffered from when it stormed.

* * *

Sasuke waited until he felt her chakra become a soft lull before he moved down to a lower platform and entered the building.

Silently, he passed through the dimly lit maze of corridors, probing ahead with his chakra, as to avoid any unwanted contact until he came to a stop outside of the room that held the familiar chakra he had been tracking.

He gave a smirk. Sakura lay just beyond those doors, completely unaware of anyone lurking around outside.

Pathetic.

Sasuke gently opened the door and peered inside.

There on the bed lay the girl from his past.

Her hair was longer. Her face was matured. Her skin was pale. Her lips were ripe. Her breathe was soft.

Her kunai was embedded in the wall next to his head.

Sasuke didn't even see her move. He must have been distracted because suddenly, the sleeping angel was sitting upright in bed, kunai in hand and eyes locked with his.

"S-Sasuke?" she whispered, dropping the kunai.

"Sakura." He replied softly, walking toward the bed.

"Sasuke, am I dreaming?"

He gave a smirk and came closer. "No. I'm really here."

Sakura's eyes moved over his body.

"You can't be here. This must be a dream."

Sasuke moved onto the bed and cupped her face with his palm.

"It's me Sakura. I'm here. Just like you always wanted."

Sasuke gazed into her eyes as he moved in closer to capture her lips with his.

"Sasuke…"

Before their lips could even touch, Sasuke found himself embedded in the wall across the room, his jaw throbbing.

Sakura sat on the bed, her hand pumped into a fist.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" she shouted.

Sasuke pulled himself out of the wall and rubbed his jaw, pushing it back into place. "Is that any way to treat the love of your life?"

"Get out of here Sasuke. I don't have time for you."

"Come on Sakura." He said, his voice dripping honey, "I am the reason you're here, right? You came here to bring me back because you still love me."

Sakura snorted. "Get over yourself, Uchiha. I'm here for Naruto."

Sasuke stopped moving and stared at Sakura with thinly veiled surprise.

"What? Where's Naruto?"

"Are you pretending to be this stupid or do you really not know?" she spat.

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "Watch yourself Sakura."

"What's wrong? Are you so self absorbed it never occurred to you that I might not have come for you? That maybe I was captured and have no choice but to be here?"

"You were captured?"

"The same time they caught Naruto."

"That's nonsense. Why on earth would they want you? You're nothing special."

"I was apprentice to the fifth Hokage, one of the legendary sannin!"

"And I was apprentice the first Otokage, also a legendary sannin, not to mention I also killed him."

"He was a monster as are you."

"And you are annoying."

Chakra blazed from Sakura's hands.

"Say that again." She growled in a low voice.

"Don't raise you're fists to me, Sakura. I don't wish to kill you just yet."

Before Sakura could open her mouth, the door to her room opened, and there stood the calm face of the puppet master.

"And I don't wish to kill you just yet either, Uchiha."

"Stay out of this, Sasori. This is between Sakura and myself."

Sasori stood firm. "What are you doing here, Uchiha?"

"I don't have to answer to you." Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on the furious woman in front of him.

"You are in Sakura's room, not to mention in the middle of an Akatsuki base. That means you must answer to me. Why are you here?"

"Ask Pein."

"I'm asking you."

"Tell me why Sakura was captured."

"She is here because I want her to be. She is strong and she interests me." He said softly.

Sasuke scoffed. "Sakura, strong? You don't know her very well do you, Sasori."

Sasori kept his eyes level with Sasuke's.

"Clearly you don't know her at all, Uchiha. Now answer my question. Why are you here?"

Sasuke held out his hand, displaying a ring with a kanji symbol for pain in red against a black base.

"I'm with Akatsuki now, as is my team. Together, we're going to destroy the leaf village."

* * *

Sakura's vision went blank and her ears swelled with the words she heard Sasuke say.

_Together, we're going to destroy the leaf village… destroy the leaf village… the leaf village…_

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, along comes an Uchiha.

Great. Just great. This is just what I needed right now.

* * *

Sasori watched as Sakura fainted once again.

Sasuke looked at her and smirked back at Sasori. "You call that strong?"

"It's a side effect of the poison I gave her." Sasori picked Sakura up and laid her beneath the bed sheets, gently stroking her hair as he did so. "I need to keep her under control or she will destroy this place."

Sasori knew he was bending the truth a little, but he didn't want Sasuke to get any wrong ideas about his kunoichi. Sakura was strong; she was just mentally and physically exhausted.

"Tell me Uchiha, who told you she was here?"

"I know her chakra well. We used to be on the same team. My suspicions were confirmed by Konan."

"I see. Well, Sakura is no longer one of your comrades, so I would prefer it if you left her alone from now on. She isn't the little girl you knew before."

"You're right about that. She isn't look like the useless little girl that use to follow me around. She looks more like a useless woman.

"I think it would be wise if you stopped looking at her all together, Uchiha."

Sasuke kept his eyes on the gently breathing girl. "Why is that?"

"Because she belongs to me now." He replied, still stroking her. "I placed that ring on her finger and I plan to make her mine and mine alone."

"She is going to help me rebuild my clan. You can't have her." Sasuke said indignantly.

"You should have thought about that before you abandoned her."

"I had to leave so I could get my revenge."

Sasori turned and gave Sasuke a barely perceivable smile. "And how did that work out for you?"

Sasuke didn't reply.

"Sakura is unable to love you anymore. Especially if you're serious about destroying the village. She's giving herself to me in order to protect it and her friends."

"She's giving herself to you?"

"It's a deal we made. She will try to save Naruto's life during the extraction in exchange for her freedom. She is a strong kunoichi, loyal and brave." His hand traced along her cheek. "And she is mine. Now please leave this room. You do not have either of our permission to be in here and I would like to spend some quality time with my Sakura."

Both men were too busy concentrating on the pink haired kunoichi; they didn't notice a small origami butterfly floating away, back down the halls.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, ok. I know, not my best. I've just been too busy, so I'm going to cut my note off here.**

***insert witty remark here***

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time**


	16. In the Dark

**A/N: Hey hey! I guess you just can't keep a good author down. :)**

**I guess the only reason this one came out so quickly is because of the great responses I got for having updated.**

**I wasn't sure if anyone really wanted to read my crummy stuff anymore, but you guys sure as hell proved me wrong.**

**I love you guys.**

**Let's all go out for icy poles and frolic!**

**YAY!!! FROLIC!!! LA LA LA LA LAAAA LAAAA! LA LA LA LA LAAAA LAAA......**

**Woah... I think I just hit by a truck load of rainbows and fuzzy sunbeams.**

**That kind of hurt...**

**Anywho, cheers for the feedback peoples.**

**Oh yeah, I don't own these people. If you have some strange belief that I do, I will ensure that the truck of love heads straight for your ass. :)**

* * *

The storm outside raged and bashed against the walls of the base, however in a dark room in the bowels of the building, there was nothing but silence.

That was until a certain pissed off Uchiha came crashing through the doors, his sharingan blazing.

"What the hell is going on, old man?" He shouted at the shadowed figure occupying the chair, the flames from the torches flickering at the intrusion.

His breathing was heavy and jaw still ached from where he had been hit.

The figure in the chair tilted it head slightly. "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe you should calm down and think before you speak."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but he took a few breaths before continuing. "Why didn't you tell me about Sakura and Naruto?"

"The Kyuubi is none of your concern. As for Sakura, don't worry about her either."

"Why wouldn't I worry? She is going to give herself to Sasori! She's mine, you hear me? Mine!"

"Settle down Sasuke. She will not be with Sasori. The deal was she saves the jinchuuriki and then beds Sasori. She will not succeed. She will try to save her friend and she will fail. You will be there to comfort her when she does."

Sasuke grunted. "What if she succeeds? What if Naruto survives? Then what?"

"He will not survive, I will make sure of that." Stated the figure simply. "Once Naruto is dead, the deal will be void and then you can take the girl. I have not spent all this time planning the future of this world to have it ruined by some foolish girl with pink hair."

The fire around the torches became calm and a stillness filled the room.

Sasuke felt a small twitch in the back of his neck, signifying they weren't alone in the room.

"Who's there?" he called out, reaching for his katana.

There was no response.

"Come out, I can feel you there."

A soft snicker came from behind the chair the figure sat upon.

"How very disappointing Sasuke-kun. I would have thought you would have sensed me a long time ago."

"Step out so I can see you." He said, his grip tightening around the handle.

"Of course." A shadow stepped out from behind the chair, the fire catching the light on two round pieces of glass, shining off against silver hair.

A sharp pain radiated from the ring on Sasuke's hand, causing his arms to fall useless by his sides. "You." He hissed.

The figure pushed his glasses back up his face.

"Yes. Me."

"What are you doing here?"

"I think it's time we had a talk, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

Sasori lay next to Sakura, holding her sleeping form against his chest.

She had not yet woken up from her encounter with Sasuke.

He was grateful that he appeared when he did. It was pure luck that he was headed towards Sakura's room when he was. The storm was making him a little edgy and had gone to seek comfort in Sakura's presence and instead he walked in to see the dark haired creep in her room trying to goad her into a fight.

Sasuke, the idiot.

If it wasn't for that stupid ring on his hand, he would have destroyed him for even thinking about taking his Sakura.

How could he not know of Sakura's strength? What made him think she still wanted him?

The Uchiha was clearly a little unhinged.

Destroy the leaf village? Was he kidding? Did the moron really think that by telling Sakura that, she would go to him?

_"_Poor girl." He sighed, gently stroking her hair. "So young, so many troubles. I hate to think I brought some of this upon you."

Her steady breath brushed up against arms, causing the hairs to stand on end.

He let out a soft moan and held her closer.

"I promise I will never let him have you. You belong to me."

Sakura snuggled into his embrace, unaware of her actions. A soft smile lay on her lips as she cuddled into his warmth.

Sasori watched her with fascination. How did he live without this before?

He lent forward and kissed her head, breathing in the smell of her hair.

The heat in his groin began to stir, but he willed it down.

Nothing was going to stop this perfect moment between them.

"Beautiful Sakura, if only we could stay this way forever. You, resting in my arms and me, holding you against my body."

She gave a soft sigh.

"If I were to die this way, I wouldn't mind at all, as long as you came with me." He crooned. "I will never let anyone take you from me."

Sasori lent over the ear of his slumbering captive.

"Sakura... I think I love you."

* * *

Pein held Konan against his lap.

"Konan, I love you."

She gave a small smile and kissed his cheek. "Of course you do."

"How did their meeting go?" he whispered, sliding his hand across her toned stomach.

"Disappointing." She sighed.

His arms pulled her closer to him.

"That's a shame. I take it she didn't cry?"

Konan laid her head back against his shoulder.

"Not a drop. She punched him instead."

Pein ran his tongue along her jaw line, causing Konan to moan in pleasure.

"She has a strong punch. Have you seen the whole in the common area wall?" he asked.

Konan shook her head as she ran her fingers through his hair.

He grabbed her chin and kissed her passionately, running his tongue along her lips.

She opened her mouth and battled his tongue with her own, running her nails across his neck.

He hissed in pain and bit her lower lip.

Konan turned her body to face his and pressed her breasts against his chest in an attempted to lay him down on the bed.

Pein grabbed her around the waist and tossed her around onto the bed, pinning her beneath him.

She was breathing heavily and keening herself against his thigh.

"Konan." He said, his voice heavy with lust.

"Yes, my love?"

"Do you promise to stay by my side forever? Do you promise to never leave me?"

"Of course I do." She moaned.

"Good. I'm not sure if we can trust Madara anymore."

Konan stopped moving and looked up at Pein, his eyes seemed troubled.

"What's wrong? Why would you say something like that?"

Pein lay down next to Konan, wrapping his arms around her again.

"He insisted on Sasuke joining us and gave him a ring that was not one of ours. It was the same type of ring he told me to give Sakura when she arrived."

Konan kissed his forehead. "Why would that bother you?"

"He knew about Sakura coming here before any of us did."

"He is an immortal, his sharingan can probably see things we cannot."

Pein nodded softly. "I suppose. But he seems to be straying a little from our path to peace... and why is he insisting we wait until we extract the nine tailed beast? What's going through that demented mind of his?"

"Shhh. Don't worry about it." Konan said, pulling Pein back on top of her body. "I'll talk to him soon. I'll fix everything. Now kiss me. Kiss me and forget about the world."

Her lips crashed into his and their mouths melted into one.

Pein felt all his worries and fears dissolve away as Konan invaded his mind with her soft touch and sensual moans.

Konan smiled to herself as she felt him slid into her.

Soon this would all be over.

She arched her back, pushing herself against him.

Soon she could end this stupid charade.

She moaned as she ran her nails across his back, bringing blood flowing to the surface.

Soon she would finally accomplish what she had set out to do all those years ago, when she had first experience loss at the hands of others.

She screamed as she climaxed

Soon.

* * *

Naruto sat in the dark, listening to the dripping sound of water and the snores of his giant cell mate.

"Balls." He huffed as he placed his chin on his hands.

What was taking those idiots so long? If they wanted to take the Kyuubi and kill him, why wait?

What were they doing up there?

He could just imagine the members of the Akatsuki having a pre-end of the world party, complete with piñata in the shape of a fox.

This was just getting annoying.

* * *

Tsunade walked down the roads of Konoha, stopping at a familiar sight.

Hinata sat at Ichiraku's staring into her untouched bowl of miso ramen.

She sat there every day, ordered the same thing and never touched it.

Tsunade felt her heart drop in her chest. It hurt her so much to see someone so young in so much pain and know that there was nothing she could do medically to make the pain go away.

She moved to the empty seat next to the heiress and gave a soft smile.

"Mind if I sit down?"

Hinata kept her head lowered but nodded gently.

"Thank you." Tsunade said, taking a seat. "Your ramen is getting cold."

Hinata stared at the bowl. "It's not for me." She whispered.

"Oh? Are you expecting a friend?" Tsunade asked.

She shook her head. "It's for Naruto. He'll be hungry when he gets back."

Tsunade could feel the tears welling up inside but refused to let them spill. The poor girl refused to believe that Naruto was gone. She had convinced herself he was just away on a routine mission. Every day she waited with his favourite ramen, expecting Naruto to return. This wasn't healthy for her.

"Hinata, could you come see me later today? I want to ask your opinion on a few things."

Hinata's head bobbed up and down slowly.

"Thank you, Hinata. I'll see you soon." Tsunade smiled as she stood up and began walking again, leaving the silent girl to wait alone.

She turned and walked towards the Hyuuga complex in the village. It would be tough, but she needed to tell Hiasha to prepare his daughters things.

Hinata was going to have to stay in the hospital until her mind was able to accept the fact that she would probably never see the man she loved again.

* * *

**A/N: Me likey.**

**Sure, it's not long... but damn it's good.**

**The intrigue... ohhh the drama.**

**Sasori is a weirdo, Hinata is a fruit loop, Sasuke is just more than a little possessive, Naruto is getting bored, Konan is a sneaky bitch, Pein is paranoid (for good reasons), Sakura is sleeping and we have a new member joining the insanity!!**

**Hot damn, I wish I could get paid to do this shit. **

**I guess I'll just have to accept cookies for now.**

**What did you guys think?**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time.**


	17. Truths

**A/N: Hell yeah! I'm on a roll!!**

**You guys must be loving me right now. I bet you all want to hump my leg or something. Am I right?**

**I know I'm right.**

**But come on, where are my cookies?**

**I even tried to squeeze a few tears out of you guys last time with the whole Hinata thing, but nooOOOoooo.**

**Bunch of tough bastards...**

**Anywho, I'm trying to squeeze as many updates in as I can before my boss gets back and tries to make me commit suicide. And yes, it will be done with a spoon.**

**On with the story.**

**Do I really need to write a disclaimer anymore? Seriously guys.**

**

* * *

  
**

Sakura snuggled against her pillow. It smelled good, like sandalwood and vanilla. Her breathing matched its gentle rise and fall as it held her close.

_Wait… Pillows don't breathe…_

Sakura's eyes flew open and she tried to push away from whatever was holding her but she was unable to move.

The grip around her tightened and squeezed her closer.

Her eyes wandered up toward the face of her captor.

There was the slumbering face of Sasori who was subconsciously holding Sakura to his chest as he snored softly.

"Great." She mumbled, shifting herself slightly into a more comfortable position.

What was she doing sleeping in his arms? Why was he holding her at all?

Oh yeah. Sasuke.

Was it a dream? Had he really been here?

She looked to the wall at the end of the room and saw the massive dent where she had punched his body into it.

It was definitely no dream.

Sasuke was here. Sasuke had joined the Akatsuki. Sasuke was going to destroy her home.

What had happened between him and his brother?

She knew he had won, but why didn't he return?

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, a small tear rolling down her cheek.

Too many questions. If only everything could fade away.

"Sakura-san?"

She raised her head again and looked up at Sasori. When had he woken up?

"Sasori?"

"Sakura-san, I'm sorry about Sasuke. I didn't know he was here."

Sakura sighed and lowered her head. "It's ok Sasori. It's not your fault."

"No, I should have taken better care of you. You could have been hurt."

"No, it's all right. I can take care of myself. I was just surprised, that's all."

Sasori gave her a squeeze.

"Please Sakura. It wasn't your fault. He's not the same boy you knew. He's different now."

Sakura nodded, another tear fell down her face.

"Sakura, don't cry. It hurts me to see you cry."

"I'm sorry Sasori. I can't help it."

"Everything will be ok. I promise. You mean a lot to me."

She was surprised at the sincerity in his voice and the comfort in his hug.

Gazing into his eyes she asked him "Sasori, answer me honestly. What am I to you? Do you really care about me or am I just some play thing?"

"I don't know what you are, Sakura. I just know I really care about you. It's strange. I haven't cared about anything this much since I was a child." His face softened and he lent in closer. "I want to protect you and make you happy. I don't ever want to see you cry."

"Then let me go, Sasori. Let Naruto and I go."

"I don't want to lose you." His lips hovered over hers. "If I let you go, you'll never come back to me. I'd rather die than not have you beside me."

Sakura swallowed. He sounded so genuine.

"I didn't understand it before," he continued, "but I think I love you."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Why? Why would you say that?"

"Because it's the truth."

Their bodies were still pressed together and she felt his heart beating as fast as her own.

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I knew it the moment I saw your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Yes. There is so much emotion in them, Sakura. Emotions I had stopped feeling a long time ago." He ran his thumb along her cheek, wiping away the residue from her tears. "You feel sadness and joy with every fibre of your being. It makes me want to experience all of those feelings myself."

Sakura shook her head slightly.

"No. It hurts too much when you feel everything. It hurts when your heart breaks. You don't want that."

"I do Sakura."

"No." She said turning her head and pushing away.

Sasori held onto her jaw and pulled her face back to his.

"Yes." He whispered, kissing her softly.

Sakura felt as though the world was spinning. His lips were so smooth and soft. His hand was strong and comforting.

She kissed him back and leaned into him.

He ran his tongue across her lips, seeking entry. She parted her mouth and allowed him in, moaning softly as he massaged her tongue with his own.

No one had ever kissed her this way before. Her senses were running amok. All she could feel was his warmth and all she could smell was his scent. It was overwhelming.

She pulled back, breaking the kiss.

"Sasori, I'm sorry. I just... I don't know if I can do this yet."

Sasori smiled and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"It's ok Sakura. We have plenty of time. I can wait."

He kissed her on the forehead and held her close.

Sakura nuzzled into his neck and hugged him back.

For the first time in a long time, she felt truly loved.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here Kabuto?" Sasuke glared.

"Why, I'm here to save the world, Sasuke-kun." He replied with a grin.

"Don't lie to me. Why aren't you dead?"

Kabuto smiled. "Simple. I can't."

Sasuke grimaced as the pain in his arms flared slightly.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I mean just that."

"Don't tell me you're an immortal?"

Kabuto pushed his glasses back up his nose and walked closer.

"You remember the story about how I became a Konoha nin, don't you?"

"You were found on a battlefield, the only survivor, right?"

"That is correct. It was a shame I had to convince all those people to die just so I could be adopted into your village, but I guess the end justifies the means."

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "Why? Why go to that much trouble?"

"To get close to Orochimaru of course. I needed his genetic code. I was hoping he would absorb your body too before he died, but accidents happen."

"Why my body? What would you want with me?"

"Evolution, Sasuke. Evolution."

Sasuke let out a small scream as Kabuto walked closer to him. His arms felt like they were on fire.

"Sore arms? Sorry about that. It's just a side effect from the ring I made." He grabbed Sasuke's hand and studied the ring. "Quite an ingenious little creation, right? It lets me keep an eye on whoever is wearing one and also allows me to control their chakra. Sakura has the matching ring to this one. She's quite the charming creature now, isn't she?"

The pain was becoming unbearable.

"Why her? What does she have to with any of this?" he spat through gritted teeth.

"I already told you. Evolution. Her child is going to be special. I was going to give her one myself, but it needs Uchiha blood. That's where you come in. Itachi was no good for the job, so I made sure he would be out and you would come to us."

Sasuke's sharingan blazed. "You killed him? YOU KILLED MY BROTHER?!"

"In a way. I did incite the Uchiha to try to overthrow the Hokage thus resulting in the path Itachi was forced to take, but ultimately you killed him. But as I said before, the end justifies the mean."

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" he screamed, ripping his hand out of Kabuto's grasp.

Kabuto smiled and took off his glasses. "Go ahead. Try." He said mockingly.

Blood began to drip from Sasuke's eye as black flames engulfed the smirking medic nin.

The heat in the room escalated and the air around him became thick with smoke.

"DIE!!" he screamed, "DIE!!!"

The Amaterasu grew fainter and eventually started to fade.

Sasuke panted with effort and collapsed to the ground, watching as his jutsu dissipated to reveal Kabuto standing in the centre of the blackened area, untouched, his eyes glowing a strange red.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun." He said, snapping his fingers, causing the pain in Sasuke's arms to triple. "That just wasn't good enough."

Sasuke screamed and curled into a ball on the ground.

Kabuto walked over to the twitching mass on the ground and snapped his fingers again,

The pain in Sasuke's arms stopped immediately and he heaved violently, emptying the contents of his stomach into the floor around him.

Leaning over him, Kabuto brushed the hair out of Sasuke's face.

"I need a child, Sasuke. I need a vessel for the demons."

Sasuke raised his head and stared at Kabuto.

"Who are you? What are you?" he breathed.

"You can call me Legion."

* * *

Kisame stood in the kitchen staring at the pantry, a flask of sake in his hand.

"Looking for something?" Came a voice form the door.

Kisame spun around to see Kakuzu leaning against the frame.

"Oh hey, Kakuzu. Yeah, Just trying to find something in here that doesn't suck."

"Good luck." Kakuzu said. "Deidara got the supplies and bought a tonne of tuna."

"Tuna? Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. Hidan says Deidara did it because he thought it would be funny. I fail to see the humour."

Kisame grinned and raised the flask to his lips, taking a big swig. "Think about it Kakuzu. When was the last time you got laid?"

His eyes tightened. "Oh. I see. Hilarious."

"I thought so, yeah." Deidara said from behind Kakuzu.

Kakuzu turned and stepped aside to let the artist through.

"Deidara, next time you buy food, don't let your perverted ideas get the better of you. It's a waste of money."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, yeah."

"But you don't even like tuna."

"Whatever, get over it, yeah."

Deidara took a seat and put his arm on the bench, wincing slightly.

"Hey Blondie, how's the arm?" Kisame said, pouring some sake out for clay user.

"Shut it, fish face."

"Oooh, touchy. Bet you didn't expect her to toss you that far, huh."

"I let her do it, alright?" he mumbled, lifting the cup to his lips and drinking deeply. "So just leave it, yeah."

"Sure sure." Kisame laughed, refilling his glass. "Whatever you say Casanova."

Deidara glared at the counter in front of him, drinking the fresh cup.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Deidara. Is beating Sasori really that important to you?" Kakuzu asked.

"It's not that." Deidara explained. "It's just... I don't know, yeah. It doesn't matter."

"I'd say it does. You seem to be stranger than usual, not to mention you're drinking a lot more. You were probably drunk when you bought all that tuna."

"I said don't worry about it. It's not your problem, yeah."

"It is our problem if you keep drinking all my damn sake." Kisame complained as he poured another glass.

Deidara skulled the drink and motioned for Kisame to fill it again.

"I don't get it. It's like he's always trying to outdo me. He never takes me seriously as an artist and he never gives me any respect. Sometimes I don't even think he likes me."

"Is that it?" Kisame said "You want him to like you? That sounds pretty gay."

"Shut up, Kisame. It's not like that, yeah. He's the closest thing I've ever had to a friend, I just wish he felt the same way."

Kakuzu gave a slight chuckle.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" Deidara said testily.

"Sorry, but Kisame's right. It does sound a little gay."

"Fuck off, you two. Stop acting so goddamned immature, yeah."

"Woah settle down kid. You need a hug or something?" Kisame grinned.

"Fuck you,yeah." Deidara grumbled as he stormed out of the kitchen. "Fucking ass."

"Come on Blondie! Don't make me call your therapist!" Kisame called out after him, Kakuzu still laughing to himself.

Deidara gave them the finger and kept on walking.

* * *

**A/N: I still like the idea of Kabuto being last true villain and his red eyes thingy has never been explained... plus I just love him.. Can you blame me?**

**Speaking of love, I'm loving these reviews people :o) **

**It's really encouraging to see people liking the story. **

**So go on, tell your friends, draw pictures, masturbate over the semi-smut scenes. **

**You know you want to. :P**

**Luff luff and knuffles till next time**


	18. Transformation

**A/N: It's official. I'm running out of electrical appliances to add to my list of "things I want to insert into my boss's rectum". **

**So far I have all of the computers (including network cables), microwave, printer, photocopiers, fax machine, so on and so on. I need something special. Something epic. Something immensely painful. Something like the paper shredder...**

**Well anywho, it's time for the fanfiction version of the energiser bunny. It just keeps going and going and going and going...**

**

* * *

  
**

Sakura lay on the chest of the puppet master, thoughts drifting through her mind like clouds.

She wasn't sure what had come over her, but she seemed to feel amazingly comfortable in his presence.

She had heard about this sort of thing happing before, a captive falling for their captor. Tsuande had told her about it once. 'Stockholm Syndrome' or something to that effect.

But it could be anything like that. Sakura wasn't weak minded enough to fall into some false sense of loyalty.

Sasori said he loved her and as much as she tried to decipher the slightest hint of a lie, she couldn't.

Sasori was telling the truth. She knew it and it made her feel warm inside. This was what it meant to be truly loved by another.

It wasn't until she had seen Sasuke that she had realised her perception of love had been completely askew.

She couldn't believe that she had wasted so many years pining after him only to now see that he would never love her. More than that, he could never love her.

He had lost the ability to love. It was clear in his eyes. His mannerisms were abnormal, his logic was eccentric and his mind had become clouded with madness.

Sasuke had changed.

Sakura knew that the sad little boy who shied away from others in order to protect his emotions was lost forever and all that remained was this destructive shell with the face of a memory.

Sakura unintentionally held Sasori tighter as she bit her lip to prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

Sasori looked down at the fragile girl. He said nothing but held her close.

Her body began to shake.

"Shhh. Shhh." He soothed.

Sakura sobbed.

"It will be ok. Everything will be ok." Sasori smoothed her hair and kissed it softly. "I promise."

He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes.

Sakura saw love in those eyes. She wasn't suffering from any syndrome. Sasori truly loved her, and she loved him.

"Sakura, I will never let him hurt you."

She nodded.

"You mean everything to me. I want you to know that."

A touch of pink crossed her cheeks. "I know. You mean a lot to me too. Thank you for saving me."

Sasori kissed her lips softly. "I will always be there to save you. I won't let anyone take you from me."

There was such sincerity in his eyes.

"I need you with me. I need you by my side, always." He whispered. "I need you to love me."

The flush in Sakura's cheeks grew to a red. "I do."

"Promise me you will love only me."

"I will."

A smile graced Sasori's usually stoic face. "That's all I've ever wanted."

Sakura understood how he felt. She had always wanted someone to love her. She had finally found that love.

It was just a shame that some people would never understand why.

* * *

Sasuke lay on the floor, his chest heaving up and down in pain and flecks of blood surrounding his mouth.

Standing over him was Kabuto, a healing burst of chakra entering Sasuke's abdominal region.

"Sorry about that Sasuke-kun. I tend to forget the force I release when in my true form."

Sasuke didn't seem to hear him.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you listening?" Kabuto said, looking at the Uchiha's face.

Sasuke glared back at him. "What?"

Kabuto grabbed Sasuke's head and turned it to the side. Blood was pouring out or his ears.

"Oh, oops." He smiled. "Guess I burst you eardrums too. My bad."

He moved his hands to Sasuke's head, Sasuke flinching gently at seeing the hands glowing right next to his face.

The bones in Sasuke's ears moved back into place and hardened, the eardrum regrowing and stretching until it was perfect.

"Better?" Kabuto said cheerfully.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, clearly unhappy with this turn of events. One immortal was irritating enough but two was a little too much for him to handle.

"Come on Sasuke-kun, cheer up. Aren't you glad to see me alive and well?"

Sasuke didn't trust himself to answer. Truth was he was very unimpressed to see the man at all.

"Hn."

"You need to be a little more respectful Sasuke." came the hollow voice of Madera. "Kabuto has been very compassionate in choosing to heal your wounds."

'_Yeah_,' Sasuke thought, '_wounds he caused_.'

"It's alright Madera." Kabuto smiled. "I don't really expect him to be too thrilled with what's going on. I guess he's finding it a bit tough knowing that he's been nothing more than a puppet his whole life. Anyway, I would like to spend some time with him alone. I think you should get back to work... Tobi."

Madera nodded silently and left.

Sasuke scowled. He was about to say something but Kabuto's eyes met with his and he quickly changed his mind.

Kabuto grinned and went back to healing Sasuke's broken ribs. "It's ok Sasuke-kun. It's completely normal to feel used. At least be glad that you still have your health."

The silver haired man chuckled at his own joke and Sasuke inwardly groaned.

'_Just what I need. A psychopathic immortal with a sadistic streak a mile long and an awful sense of humour. Really, this is just great.'_

"Come on Sasuke-kun. That one was kind of funny. Don't you like my jokes?" Kabuto said with amusement.

"I'm suppose I'm just not use to you making jokes." He winced slightly as one of his ribs slid back into place. "I always remember you as Orochimaru's dog."

Kabuto still smiled. "I had to make sure the idiot didn't do anything stupid. He was always getting himself into trouble. Sort of like you. You two are a lot alike, you, know that?"

Sasuke spat on the ground next to him, the glob still had bits of blood through it. "I'm nothing like him."

The glow in Kabuto's hand began to fade. Sasuke could feel his body finally settling back into place. He sighed in relief.

"Think what you will." Kabuto shrugged. "We'll see soon enough"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke said.

"Not very observant, are you? Don't you think all that healing took a bit longer than it should have? I mean, we both know it doesn't take that long to fix up a few broken bones and a few ruptured organs. Well, not for me anyway."

Sasuke felt a small tingle in his mouth but ignored it.

The medic smiled. "Either way, you'll notice the side effects pretty soon."

Sasuke reached up and rubbed his neck.

The back of his throat began to burn and he coughed.

His tongue began to tingle and itch and the burning in his throat worsened.

Something was definitely wrong.

"What did you do to me?" he rasped.

Kabuto continued to smile as he watched Sasuke hunch over. "I just needed to pass on some genetics to you. They need to be passed on in the child you and Sakura and going to create for me."

Sasuke's face was turning red as he curled up on the floor, clutching his throat.

"Which genetics?" he wheezed.

"Oh, you know, a bit of this, a bit of that. But one main code in particular."

"Which code?"

The light glinted off Kabuto's glasses which held the reflection of the dark haired man twitching and writhing around on the floor in pain. "Well, I did say you two had a lot in common." He smirked.

There is no way to truly describe the pain involved in merging cells with another's.

Sasuke screamed as his skin paled. His nails scraped across the cold cement as his eyes became rimmed with purple. His tongue extended from his mouth like a snake and he arched his back in agony.

Sasuke felt like his skin was burning while his blood was freezing. His insides twisted and pulsated as the foreign code changed his own body to compensate with the fusion.

The world spun and flipped inside out and then stopped suddenly.

Panting, Sasuke's body crashed against the floor, his eyes glazed over, and his sharingan blazing.

Kabuto reached over and grabbed Sasuke's face, the Uchiha still twitching with the aftershock of the change.

"Hmm, interesting." He mused softly, staring into the distant eyes. "I've never seen a golden sharingan before."

* * *

Sasori gently laid the sleeping kunoichi against the pillows of her bed. He smoothed her hair and ran his thumb along her lips.

"Sleep well, my pet." he whispered, moving away to the door. He turned around and took one last look before slowly shutting the door behind him.

Letting out a sigh of irritation, Sasori moved up the hallway towards the common area. He needed to let the others know about their unwelcomed guest.

As long as Sasuke remained unchecked, Sakura would not be safe anywhere. The others were respecting the boundaries in regards to her, somewhat, and they all seemed to have developed a sort of liking for the pink prisoner.

Sasori knew they would want to know and protect the girl as much as possible. No one really liked Sasuke anyway. Especially Kisame.

Itachi had been the closest thing Kisame had to a long term friend. Usually he would get bored with people and either attacked them or ignored them and although the Uchiha hadn't spoken very much, there was a mutual respect between the two men that made Kisame feel appreciated.

Needless to say, he was none to impressed with the death of his comrade, but he had accepted it, knowing that hunting down and killing people out of revenge was just a little too... how did he put it?... a little too 'emo' for him.

As Sasori entered the room he spotted with big blue man one again laid out on the couch.

"Hey Sasori." He greeted, his arm scratching somewhere unmentionable. "Whatsdoin?"

"Good evening Kisame-san." Sasori nodded in return. "Are the others around? I wish to tell you all something."

Kisame grinned. "What? You finally got laid?"

The redhead rolled his eyes, getting tired of the joke.

"Nah, seriously though," Kisame continued, "what's up? You look kinda miffed."

"We have an Uchiha in the Akatsuki."

He was immediately attentive. "A what?"

"An Uchiha. Sasuke, to be precise. He attempted an attack on Sakura tonight."

Kisame's aura darkened. "Where is he now?"

"I'm not sure." Sasori replied. "He stormed off complaining about some old man."

"You should have killed him, Sasori."

"I couldn't." He said regretfully. "He has a ring."

Before, the death of an Akatsuki member was common, but after the organisation had become narrowed down to less than five members, Leader had decided something had to be done. Now, no one was allowed to kill another member without specific permission. Sasori despised the rule.

Kisame snorted. He too, was clearly unenthusiastic about it.

Sasori ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled noisily. "I don't like the idea of him running free around the compound with Sakura here. I don't trust him near her."

"I wouldn't trust him either." Kisame agreed. "I mean, Pinky is a hot little number. I wouldn't mind having a whack at her myself."

Sasori's eyes narrowed.

"But I know she belongs to you, so I'm cool." He quickly added.

The puppet master nodded, satisfied with the quick amendment. "I should be heading back to Sakura now. I don't think it's wise to leave her alone for too long. She was rather upset. Inform the others of the situation."

The couch groaned under the weight of giant shark man as he leaned forward. "Don't stress, we won't let him hurt her."

Sasori moved towards the door. "If he even tires it, I'll make sure he suffers until his last breath."

* * *

**A/N: OooOOOoooh... Golden Sharingan. Sounds like some pretty asian flower or maybe fireworks.**

**So, what did you guys think? Is it getting interesting? Is it getting long? Is it awesome enough to print off and shove into my boss's anus sheet by sheet?**

**Let me know : )**

**Luff luff and knuffles till then. **


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